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Natural Obligations

To Believe the

^ Principles of Religion^

AND

Divine Re veLxITion; In XVI Sermons,

Preached in the

Church of St. Mary le Bow^ London^ In the Years 1717 and 1718.

At the LECTURE founded by The Honourable

Robert Boyle, Efq^

By JOHN LENG, D.D. Redor of Bed'mgton^ and Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majefty.

LONDON:

Printed by W. B. for Robert Knaplock,

at the Bijhop's Head in St. Paul's Church- yard, Mdccxix,

TO THE

Right Honourable

RICHARD.

Earl of Burlington ;

The Right Reverend Fathers in God,

Charles, Lord Bi/hop of Novmch, Edmund, Lord Bifhop of Lincoln, Samuel, Lord Biffjop of Carlile,

And Whjte, LordB'iJhop ^/Peterborough,

TRUSTEES,

Appointed by the Mofl: Reverend Father in God, Thomas, late Lord Archbilhop of Canterbury^ the laft fqrviving Truftee Named

By The Houjourable

Robert Boyle ^ Efq$

Thefe Sermons are moft humbly dedicate^

it'i3**i'***i*****i*********************''\******

THE

CONTENTS

OF THE

XVI SERMONS.

SERMON I, II.

pag. HAT implied in the Text, as fpoken to Believers, 2

Confide rations proper to he offered, to thofe who do not yet believe, %

Trohable Caufes of Infidelity , other than want of Evi- dence, - 6 'Negligence arifing from vitious VraUiee, 8 A 3 Vices

The CONTENTS.

Vices rf the Mind, as Pride, Affe Nation of Singula- rity, Sec. - 10 The fame ohferved by Plato, 1 1 hdiftinguifloing Averfion to Superflitian, 14 This condemned by Plutarch, 1 6 More tinreafonable now than under Ueathenfm, 1 7 That we cannot alt reafonably , without endeavour- ing to be Jatisfied about the Principles of Religion^

Unbelief criminal, where there are fufficient Reafons

for believing, 29

Ohjetfion of pretended free-thinkers confidered, 3 5

What true freedom 0} thinking is, 3 ^

]\fot inconfiflent with being rejponfible for the ufe of

it, 3P

XJnreafonable to perjuade others againfl the Principles

of Religion, for him who is not himfelf convinced

that they are falfe, 41

fewfo convinced, by the ConfeJJton of Lucretius, 4 3

XJnreafonable, in rejped of God, 45;

0} Men, 46

let 7nore unreafonable to make them the SubjeU of Ridicule, 50

Tleafor this fort of Ridicule confidered^ 5 1

Cafe of Socntes, 5*3

Sincerity recommended in the Search of Truth, 58

SERMON

The CONTENTS. SERMON III, IV, V.

Inftances of faith propofed by the Apofile^ 61-66 Mere belief of a Godj without a Frovidence, «5 ground

of Religion, 6-j

No perfe^ Morality , where the firfl Principles of

Religion are not entertained^ -75

Not even between Man and Man, y^

All human Atlions depend upon belief, g o

Moral Anions much more, 81

This agreeable to the Sentiments of Mankind^ 84 Morality mufi refpeQ God {fuppoftng his Exiftence)

as well as Man, S6

VouTidation of the Law of Nature, laid in the relation

of Man to God, 87

All orderly Societies of Men have ever profefl the

firft Principles of Religion^ 94

This fhewn from Teftimony ofbefl Autbors, $6

And the Tra^ice of all confiderable Nations, I o3

Modes of Idolatry, not Principles oj Religion, brought

out of E^yipt, 109

Providence and a future State, believed by others be-

fides the Vulgar, 1 1 ?

Solomon no Infidel, i ^4

Olde^ Wilojophers not againft a future State, 1 1 7.

A '4- ^'''^"

The CONTENTS.

pag- Univerfdl Confent^ m the firji Principles of Religion ,

not from Human Art or Contrivance, 1 26

The Sufpicion of this, without foundation in point of

hiftory, 130

Or ancient Tradition , as appears from Ariitotle ,

Andfrom?hto, 1^6

Ancient Heathen Theology, 141

Vhyfiology, orYhilofophy, 143

Y.^'^txm^ fabulous Antiquaries , 147

The fame Sufpicion abfurd, in way of Re af on and Ar- gument, 149

SERMON VI, VII, VIII.

Occafion of the Words, \6o

What is ajjerted in them, 165

Yrom whence the general Belief of a God may pro- ceed, 1 5^ F/>/? Ground of it, common Inflru^ion , conveyed ' downfro?n the beginning^ 169 This probable from fever al Jnf\ antes of ancient Tra- dition, in Opinion and Praffice, i-j\ Confirmed by U/ages of a Civil IVature, 180 Second Ground of univerfal Belief of God, from the Yrame of Mans Mind, 182 This Belief owned to be natural by Epicureans 185 Ohjellions to this confidered, 18^

Third

The CONTENTS.

pag»

Third Ground of Belief, vi/ible Effe^s, 194.

Obfervation of Ariftotle, ' i^ij

frame of the World, a general Argument for the Be- ing of God, 195 Magnitude or Extent of the Creation^ 202 Tsfumber and Variety of Creatures, 204 Exquifite Minutenefs of Farts, 20$ Beauty and Regularity of every Species, 207 Harmonious Correfpondence of each part of 'Nature to other, 209 Curious Structure of Animals, and their fever alVarts,

212 formation of the fever al Organs ofSenfation, 217 Obfervation of Ariftotle, 218

ofYYmY, 219

— -/)/ yW^-. Hobbes, 220

Vrovifwnfor all the Senfes of Animals, ^ 221

AUn diftinguifhed from the refi, 222

Obje^ion ^Epicureans and others, in refpe^l to Man, unreafonable, 230

Subordination of Creatures, 254

Outvoard StruHure of Man, 235

The ufe of Speech peculiar, 238

Mind and Reafon of Man related tofomething above him, 240

Powers of the Mind, free-Will, 242

Wifdom, 244

Goodnefs, 247

Other

The CONTENTS.

pag. Other properties pf an Human Mind, 250

Abufe of the Word Nature, 25?

SERMON IX.

Alfurdity ofrejeUing Final Cau/es, 7$ 2

Wifdom, Fower and Goodnefs, not the rejult of Mat- ter and Motion^ 26% \AIifurdHypotbefis of Epkums, 267 Eternal SucceJJion abfurd, 268 Ariftotle' J Opinion , 269 Sufficient Means of knowing God, snakes it inexcufa- ble to difown him, 275 Vlea inhehalf of free-thinkers confidered, 275; '$^0 DefeU in the Goodnefs of God, If he fuffer thofe to be miferahle who difown his Beings Sec. 281

I

SERMON X, XI, XII.

Meaning of the Words, 289

Belief of God and Frovidence, an Obligation to en- quire whether he has juade any Revelation, 292

Goodnefs, ^uflice and Truth, effential to the Divine Nature, 295

The fame for kind, though not for degree, in all Ra- tional Beings, 296

^eafon

The CONTENTS.

Reafon of the fame kind in all, 298

foundation of the Law of Nature, according to Tully,

299

God Will govern Rational Beings, according to Moral

Verfetlions, 504

from hence our Obligation to enquire about his Will,

307 Generality of Men failed in this, 311

An Exhortation to Sincerity in this Enquiry, 514

A PaJJage in the Charatoiltics cenfured, 315

A ferious Enquirer will find reafon to Relieve Reve- lation a thing probable, ' 3 24 Kot impjfible in the Nature of the thing, 3 2*6 Not incredible, 330 Men generally perfuaded offome Revelation, 332 This pretended to by Numa, Lycurgus, Minos, Sec.

334 Remark <?f Strabo, 337

Moles and the Patriarchs, 340

%\Xd}d<Ss Account of VioX^, 341

Revelation, not unnecejjary, 344

Surprizing Corruption of Human Nature, 345

Not to he cured by Vhilofophy, 348

Vhilofophers not fujjiciently qualified, 3J0

"^'—mofi deficient in Matters of Religion, ^$6

Stoics, 358

Academics, 361

Epicureans, 3^2

FbilO'

The CONTENTS.

pag-

Vhilofophers ovoned their want of Revelation, 965

fallacy ofthofe who think Revelationtinnecejfary^ 371

Every Mans Duty, to endeavour to dijiinguijh true

Revelation Jrom pretended^ 377

SER M ON XIII, XIV.

Occafion of the Text confidered, 383

Things propofed to be confideredj in relation to Mi- racles, 386 A Miracle, what, 387 . An Ejfeti obvious to Senfe, 388 Exceeding all known Hu??kin Tower, 389 Tet not necejjarily an EffeU of the immediate Fovper of God alone, 3 90 A Sign of fome thing, 395 Miracles pojjible, 396 Capable of proof, as other Ya^s, 399 How to be difiinguifhcd, 402 By their Greatnefs, 404 'Number, and different kinds, 406 Tong Continuance , ib. Tendency to Good, 407 Thing to be proved by Miracles muJI be worthy of God,

409

What Connexion between Divine Miracles , and a D/* vine Commiffion, 415

Vera-

The CONTENTS.

pag.

Veracity of God ^ a neceffary Attribute^ 415

The natural Argument of the Man horn blind, 418 Obje^ion from afuppofed Cafe confidered, 421

An Injlance of culpable Credulity in the old Vrophet^

424-

This applied, 425

Miracles and Doctrine not proved in 4 Circle, 428 Advantagious difference of Divine and Human Tefii-

mony, 43 X

Ancient Miracles^ how far an Evidence of the DoUrine

of Scripture^ 432

Scripture, a Record both of Miracles and Do^rine^

Better attefled than any ancient Human Hijiory,

437

Collateral Evidence to it, 441

SERMON XV.

Succejfive fuhjequent Evidences to Chrifiianity ^

447 Wonderful manner of its Propagation, more than Hu- man, 448 ¥reed from fufpicion of hnpojlure, 450 Want of otitvoard Means in the Apojlles, an Argument that their Succefs was from God, 4 5: 5 Marvellous Effelis of the Chriflian DoSrine in the Lives of Chrifians, 4.')6

Methods

The CONTENTS.

pag. Methois of Heathen Vhilofophers to oppofe it, 461

Their falfe Stories of Miracles, 469

Their Fretences tofomething more than the Gojpei,

^66

Could not bear up againft fhe Light of Human ,

467

Objeflion from the Vrogrejs of Mahometanifm con-

Jidered, 468

AccompHJhment oj Vrophejies delivered by Chrift and,

hisApoJIles, 469

As to the Apoftles Treatment and Succefs, 470

Deftru^ion of JetuMem, 471

Difperfion of the Jews, 472

Jews nor fuffered to return, 47?

Vrogrejs of Chrijiianity , and State of the Chrift ian

Church, 474

SERMON XVI.

Occafion of John'j Difciples coming to Chrift, 47.9 His Reply to their Meftage, 480

prejudices to the f erf on of our Saviour conjidered.

His tnean andfujfering State, 484

Uis dying, and yet promifing life to others, 488

The hignity of his ?erfon, 489

'Divine Goodnefs and fuftice reconciled, 490

Unity of two Natures, 492

Obj-e-

The CONTENTS.

Obje^iion to the Time of his Appearance,

. to theP/ace^

Prejudices againjl his Do^lrine^ Thought too plain nndfimple, Toofublime and myfterious. Deficient in fome Points of Morality , Precepts of it too fever e^ "Notfo effectual as it ought to be. The Conclufion,

ib.

504

5:09 511

ERRJT'J,

Page IT, at the bottom, for Pleafure read k.

24, for Religion. And r. Religion, and.

36, at the bottom, for/, i. r/*. 170.

55, for avay r. any.

69, for ahfur'd r. ah fur d.

ib. at the bottom, for imhcillate,x, imlicillitatf.

91, for-(^/'r/74tii x. April the iK II J, for r^eir r. /^erf. 176, for (CMTH^ r. ioU/TOlg, 193, for judicio r.judicia. 267, lor iv. r. ix.

SERMON I.

Preached January the 7''' 17;^.

A4-'^44^'^4'44'4'4*''f 4^'^4^4^4^4'4''*^4''^4'4^4'4^4^4^''^4'4^4^4^'*^44''!^4''^

Heb. iii. 12.

"Take heed^ brethren^ leji there he tn any of you an evil heart of unbeliefs in departing from the Iwtng God,

Hese words of the Apoflle are Ipokcn to fuch as were at that time fuppofed to be believers of the Chriftian Dodrine , at leaft in fuch a degree as, in fbme mea- furc, to acknowledge it to be from God, and to be well perfuadcd of the truth of its firfl principles ; though feme of them perhaps not fufficiently inftruded, as yet, in all the con-

B iequences

»

1 SERMON I.

fequences of thofe principles, or in all thefe^ veral branches of Chriftian faith and pradice : And they contain a general exhortation to beware of fallii>g back into a (tare of infideli- ty, or of di'-believing and renouncing that Gofpel dodtrine which they had once enter- tained, and upon which, as a foundation, he intended to build thole farther Dodrines which were neceflary to render the Chriftian Infti- tution compleat.

The expreflions here made ufe of, are luch as plainly imply the the feveral following Par- ticulars.

I. That Infidelity of the Chriftian Dod:rine, when plainly propofed to us, is in a great mealiire voluntary, and therefore chargeable to mens own account : for elle it would be unreafonable to give fuch a caution to beware of it.

II. That it proceeds from a vitious difpofi- tion of mind and afFedtions : it has not its o- riginal in the head or underftanding , but in the heart, being called an evil heart of tin- belief.

III. That it is a revolting from that natural duty which we owe to God, the author of our life and being, a departing from the Liv- ing God; and therefore, 4. That

SERMON I. 3

4. That men by falling into fuch Infidelity may be highly culpable before God , and, as fiich, may be juftiy puniihable by him for che perverfe ule of thofe iaculties, and means of employing, them which he has beftowed up- on them.

I need not add , that the caution it felf fup- pofes, that men who have once been believers may for want of care and attention , and of living according to their belief^ relapfe into a (late of Infidelity, either partial or toral; they may be fo hardened by the deceitfulnefs of Jin, as by degrees to fet themfelves againfl: that Truth which they have formerly admit- ted. And therefore, if I were now to ipeak only to thofe who do at preient believe the Golpel, and own their belief of it ; and who do, upon that account, take thefe words of the Apoftle to be the diredijn or caution of God Almighty by his infpired Minifter, I migh' fpeak very ulefully to the foremention- ed particulars, as a Warning to all Chridians to hold fafl the profejjlon of their faith , and iliew how much we are ail concerned in this Apoftolical advice ; led by negleding to make a proper ufe of that Dodlrine which God hath revealed to us for the diredion of our lives,

B i and

4 SERMON I.

and by fuffcring cur lulls and paiTions to pre- vail over our rcaion and confideraticn , we iliould firft put away a good Conibience, and by that means be tempted, or wrought upon, to make Ihipvvreck of our Faith.

But fmce I am now fuppofed to direct my dilcourfe to fuch as pretend not yet to be per- fuaded6f the truth or importance of rheChri- ftian ReHgron, and to fuch as are diffident of the principles of all Reh'gion, or at lead are wilHng to difpute themfelves into a disbelief of it, or fuch great uncertainty about it, as makes them utterly unconcerned whether it be true or falfe ; I mufl: not, to luch men, ufe thefe words of the Text in an Authorative manner, nor urge them any farther than as a piece of prudent advice, which is not allowed by them to have any more weight in it, than what may be made plain and evident from the Reafon and nature of the thing.

And upon this foundation I lliall at this time apply my felf to fuch as deny, or difpute againft the common principles of Religion , and think it a very innocent and indifferent matter, either to believe them, or not believe them, as it (liall happen, as having refpe(5t on- ly to their prefent convenience, and not con- cerned about any future conlequences ; and

ihall

S'ERMON I. 5

fliall endeavour to pefuade tliem from com- mon Rcafon, that it "is their duty not to be unconcerned in the cafe, but to give the ar- guments that have been , or may be offered in behalf of the principles of Rehgion, a fair, and ferious, and impartial hearing and exami- nation. And in order to this, I defire that they would, without prejudice, confider the following particulars.

I. That there may be other probable caufes of Infidelity often afligned bcfides want of evi- dence ; even when this is pretended as an ex- cuie for it.

II. That the principles of Religion are of that high nature, and univerfal concernment to mankind, that we cannot anfwer it to our own reafon to be unconcerned about them; and therefore that we muft, as rational crea- tures, endeavour to be fatisfied about them.

III. That if we have fufficient reafon to be- lieve the great principles of Religion ; fuch as the Being of a God, and a Providence, and a Future ftate, ^c. our unbelief will not cxcufe us from a crime in the fight of God.

IV. That it is unreafonable for any man to endeavour to perfuade others out of the prin- ciples of Religion, till he himfelf is firft evi-

B 3 dently

6 SERMON I.

dently convinced that they are falfe, and dif- advantagious to mankind.

V. That it isftill more unreafonable to make them the fubjedt of raillery and ridicule.

I. That there may be other probable caufes of Infidelity often affignedjbefides want of evi- dence, even when this is pretended as an ex- cufe for it. Though fuch as do not believe are very ready to charge all believers with unreafonable creduHty, and to excufe their own unbeHcf with this pretence, that they have not lufficient evidence to convince them ; yet this may be norhing elfe but a general de- iire which all men have to juftify their own condud:, and remove the blame from thcm- felves. They declare indeed, that they are ready to think freely upon all fubjedts, and willing, as they fay, to iubmit to realon ; but then the reafon ought, in their opinion, to be liich as to command their afTcnt, {^o plain and clear that it cannot be denied. But that the principles of Religion carry no fuch forcible evidence with them. For if they did , who could deny his affcnt to them ? and if they do not, what harm can there be in refuHng it ? This is their way of arguing. And indeed if there were no voluntary indiipofition in any

man

SERMON I. 7

man which could hinder him from difccrning a plain reafon when propofed ro him, there would be feme force in rhe argument. But if there may be corrupt incHnarions, paffions or prejudices, which bhud mens underftand- ing, and keep ihem from affentin^ to fome truths, which appear plain and evident to thofe who are free and unprejudiced , then their argument has no force; and we cannot judge of rhe ftrength or weaknefs of that Evi- dence which is offered for any truth , mere- ly fiom the effedl which it has upon thole to whom it is offered.

They that disbelieve the great Truths of Religion muft needs own, that thole who do believe them, believe upon infuflicient argu- ments, or elfe they would be felf condemned for not believing; and therefore they muft al- fo own, that as much of the belief as has no competent argument to flipporc it, muft be founded upon fome wrong diipofition of the perfon believing; that is, he has fome preju- dice, paftion or afFed:ion, which inclines him to believe that argument good which in it lelf is not fo, even though he himfelf is nor, for the time, aware of any fuch undue prejudice. Now certainly if Credulity may arife from inch a biafs. Incredulity may alio proceed from ano-

B 4 ther

8 SERMON I.

ther biafs. For we fee plainly in other cafes, that the very fame arguments propofed in the fame light to different men, even of the fame natural abilities, (hall have very different ef- fe(5ts, and that which entirely convinces one, ihall not in the leaft move another, though ilippofed to be of equal underftanding. And yet both fides are unwilling to own any defed: or prejudice in themfelves, and chufe rather to blame the argument icfeli^ or the underfland- ings of other people who apprehend the argu- ment differently from what themfelves do.

And as it is in other cafes, fo it is in Re- ligion, the arguments * for the truth of it may be very good and conclufivc, but fome men may be indilpofed for the receiving of them. As for inflance,

I. Some men are fo far immerfed in the things of this life, in the purfuits of riches or pleafures, or the like, that they will not be at the pains to confider whether there be any force in fuch arguments as relate to the Being of a God and a future flate, or no; and fo content themfelves with being ignorant or indifferent about them. Others, by indulging their lulls and paffions, conrradt a ftupidity towards things of an higher na- ture, or by too eafily entertaining fuch pre- judices

SERMON I. 9

judices as favour their corrupt incliuations* appetites or humours, grow unwilhng to ad- rait of any thing that contradid:s them: They would be glad to have things fo as bed fuits their own preient vitious defires, and there- fore they are not fmcere in their love of Truth, but are defirous that Truth fliould be jufl: what they love, and therefore they readi- Jy embrace any argument or objection which they think makes for them. They like not to retain God in their knowledge^ becaufe their practice is difagreeable to his nature. Every vitious inclination which a man is refolved to purfue, is a ftrong biafs upon his mind, either towards Infidehty, or at lead towards fuch corrupt notions of the nature of God as infenfibly lead men to it.

Wehaveavery nlain inftance of this in that old Epicurean notion of a God, as of a Being happy indeed and eternal, but whofe happi- nefs confiftcd altogether in doing nothing, and being concerned for nothing. For they who placed the utmoft of humane happinefs in eafe and indolence, and the pleafure of felf-gra- tification, were eafily drawn to believe the fame of the divine happinefs ; and from thence to conclude, that there could not be any Pro- vidence of God which concerned itfelf with

the

lo SERMON I.

the affairs of the world ; for all fuch concern would deftroy its own eafe and refl, and con- fequently its happinefs. For it was a maxim with them, Niji quiettim nihil heatum\ and again, as Velleius in Tully cxprefles their com- mon fentiment, which, it's plain, had its original from their own love of eafe and lazinefs of temper, Nos autem beat am vi- tam in animi fecuritate, & in omnium vaca- tione munerum pontmus.

X. As for thofe who are not fo much under the power of their bodily appetites or paf- fions, bur that they can fee the grofs defor- mity of them, and how much they debafe human nature when men are led by them, and are therefore aihamed of fuch a brutal life as vifibly fmks them below the ufe of human Reafon ; yet even thefe men may have inward vices of the mind, which without a finccre and honcft attention to the fecret workings of their own hearts, may produce as perverle efFedts in their reafonings, and more incurable. For Infidelity may often arife from pride and felf- conceit, which dif- pofes men of parts and learning to an affe- d:ation of fmgularrty and a defire of feeming wifer than other people, by maintaining pa- radoxes and contradiding all opinions that

are

SERMON I. II

are vulgarly received, for that very reafbn becjufe they are fo; And they that are of a lighter and vainer temper, and value them- felves upon an appearance ot wit in conver- fation, proceed fometimes to ridicule and laugh at things of the highefl nature, inftead of arguing foberly about them. That men's in- dulging this kind of temper in themfelves has been a temptation to them to embrace Arheiflical opinions in other polire ages and countries befides our own, is plain from what 'Tlato obferved long ago, who when, in one of his Dialogues, he brings in Ciinias dilput- ing againft Arheifiii from the common topicks of the beauty and harmony of the univerfe, the regular motions of the heavenly bodies, and the common notions of mankind, in which all nations Greeks and Barbarians agreed concerning a God and a Providence, makes an Athenian ftranger reply to him, That he was afraid there were a fet of ill men in the world who would defpife and laugh at fuch old and common arguments. It may be, fays he, that you who live here, remote from the city, may imagine that intemperance in pleafure and Jenfual litji is the only caufe of fuch impiety ; but there is another ground of

pleafure

' Lib. lo. de Legil/us, {. 886.

12 SERMON I.

iff befides this^ and that " is a certain grievous, ignorance pretending to the great eft 'uui/dom. flato knew that at Athens^ the feat of wit and learning, there were fome great pretenders to Philofophy, who maintained atheiftical opinions upon a formed hypothejis contrary to the antient dodrine, and fome no doubt fet themfelves up for wits upon that account, not that they really had any fuperiority of uuderftanding above thofe that went before, but becaufe they afred:ed fomething that might diflinguilli them from the reft of the world, if it was only in point of novelty. We fee that in other cafes befidcs Religion, this tem- per often leads men to a fpirit of contradiction, in the gratifying of which men may fail into very foul miftakes and abiiirdicies themfelves, while they imagine themfelves to be only ex- pofmg and ridiculing the follies and abfurdities of other people. And that the fame temper may miflead men in refped: of the principles of Religion, is more than probable from the manner of writing which thofe men general- ly purfue, who appear forw^ardeft in the caufe of infidelity. There does not often feem to be in them fo great a concern for truth, as a defire

I. 10, p. 888. ed. Serrani.

of

SERMON I. 13

of flicwing their own parts : uor are they ever fo forward in laying down any confiftent fcheme of principles of their own, as in con- tradi6ling the moft commonly received prin- ciples of others. They feem deflrous of being taken for men of deeper reach than their neighbours, that are not to be impofed upon by vulgar opinion?, but can fpy the vveaknefs or failure of thofe arguments which to others, that are more modeft, have always appeared very convincing. A certain lelf- confidence, mix'd with a contempt of other men's under- (landing, is very apt to betray men into a wrong uie of their reafon, and to make thera (Irike into odd and fingular ways of thinking, only becaufe they are new and contrary to that which others have chofen upon much better confideration ; and we fee that there is nothing fo abfurd but what if once ftarted will find fomeprofelytes for a while, if it be only for the novelty of it.

It has been thought by fome, That the chief reafon why all men afTent to the truth of Mathematical demonftrations, when plainly propoled to them, is becaufe none of thole truths interfere with the intetefts, paffions or inclinations of any man : becaufe if they did, men concerned would find fome pretence

to i

14 S ERMON I.

to evade the force of them. I will nor affirm that this is the only reafon of fuch univcrfal affent to Geometrical conclufions; but the fuppofai however evidently allows, that fome truths,which in their own nature are capable of fufficient proof, may be disbelieved or rejected through prejudice, or prepofleffion of tnte- reft or pafllon, or lome partial or vitious dif- poftrion of mind in thofe to whom the proof is offered. It is certain, that what men do not like, they are very unwilling to under- ftand, though they will not eafily be brought to own this for the reafon, but will always find out fome colour or other to avoid the fufpicion of fuch partiality.

But befides thefe perfonal indifpofitions of mind, which may give a ftrong byafs towards Infidelity, there is one thing farther which appears to have great influence over fome men's reafoning, even in the firft principles of Religion, and that is

3 . An inconftderate and indiftinguifliing aver- fion to Superftition, which evil they think can never be effedlually cured, but by deftroying the very foundation of Religion itl'elf. It is a very common pra(Stice, in many inftances, for thofe that are grown weary of the folly and mifchief of one extream, prelently and with- out

SERMON I. 15

out confideration to betake themfelves to the oppofite, as if that were the only remedy, which yet in the end proves as bad or worfe perhaps than the difeafe itfelf.

It is evident, from thofe high encomiums that the difciples and followers of Eficurus give their mailer, for his forming an hypothe- Jis which would free them from fuperllition, that they were greatly biaffed by this prin- ciple, or elfe they could not fo eafily have fallen in with ^o abfurd an hypothefis^ who were many of them ocherwife men oi better parts and more learning than Epiciirm hira- lelf appears to have been. But the world be- ing then greatly overrun with fuperllition, which often pafs 'din common under the Name of Religion, they would not be at the pains to examine throughly the merits of each and make a jull diltind:ion. A man can hardly forbear thinking that thofe, who make fuch horrible outcries of the heavy yoke of fuper- (lirion, even while they feem to include all reverence for a Deity under that name, had been fome time or other of their lives great- ly under the power of this evil, or that rhey had formerly been taught to worlliip fome cruel D^raon, which had left luch dreadful imprelTions upon their imagination, as to make

them

i6 SERMON I.

them afraid of the thoughts of any invifible Being ; and defirous to be perfuaded, upon any terms, that there is no fuch thing : at leaft one cannot eafily imagine, that thofe men ever had any juil or true notion of a God, the mod excellent and lovely of all Beings, who can fb eafily confound Religion and Superfti- tion, as to think, that one of them can- not be admitted or difcarded without the other. To be under the power of fuperftition is, no doubt, a very wretched flate, and expofes men both to much wickednefs and mifery, if the mind be infeded with it to any great de- gree : but it has its original not from Religion or a true feiife of God, but from a falfe and perverfe opinion of the Deity, or from taking {bmething elle for God which is not fo. But it is a very uncomfortable cure for this twW to endeavour to banifli the belief of the true God out of our minds. This way, in the Opinion of '^ Thttarch (in his Treatife of Su- perftitton) is like unwarily avoiding robbers,

or

x-QyifMHi e^bcrcii htui; ^0 enoi (p&jyoirei tjj* dHi>iou4/^otix» it ftirtf KHMvlw T))» ^utri^HXi, Plutarch, weoi Sesa-fSxtju. in fine.

SERMON I. 17

or wild Beads, or Fire, by running withoCit confideration inro a By-way full of gulfs and precipices. And yet he reJls us that there were fiich men as took this extravagant courfe, and to avoid Supcrfticion fell into obflinate Athe- ifm, wholly pafTing over Religion which lies in the middle between thefe extreams. And I am afraid there are {till fuch as fplit upon the fame rock upon the lame occafion. '^ But I cannot lay, that this pieience can juftly have the lame force with it, or plead the fame Ex- cufe now, that it might do under Heathen Su- perflition. For when there was very little true Knowledge of God among them, and much lefs any thing in all their woriliip that could plainly fignify the Unity and pcrfedion of the Divine Nature, but very much tomif^ lead them to Polytheifm and Idolatry, fo that

C the

^ See the note upon Mijcellaneous Refiedmns, p. 65. zvhert lue are told, " That if, from the Exlerience of man^i gr'ifs " delufions of a fuptrflitious kind, thU fear begins to turn, 'tis " natural for it to run, ivith equal violence a contrary way. " The extream paffton for relipvm ohjedJs pajfes into an aver- *' fion : and a certain borror and dread of impofture caufes as •' great a diflurhance as evenjjnpofiure itfelf had done before. ** In fuch a fituation at this, the mind may be eafily blinded : *• as well in one refpeHl as in the other. 'Tii plain both thefe " d'forders carry fomething luith them zvhich difcoi:ers us to *' be in fome manner bcfide our reafon, and out of the right " nfe of judim^nt and ttnderflanding.

i8 SERMON I.

the greateft part of their Religion was the mere vvorfliip of Devils; it was much more difficult to fpy the Truth through liich a veil of Darknefs. But now when jufter notions of the Divine PerfecStions and Attributes are fet before us, as it is more culpable to fall into fuch abfurd Superftition, fo it is more inexcu- fable to make the weaknefs and folly of fu- perftitious people a pretence for throwing ofF all Religion.

Thus I have endeavoured to flievv, that there may be other grounds of men's Infide- lity, befidesvvant of evidence, in the principles of Religion : And I have infifted the longer upon this, becaufe whatever men may pretend, I am afraid they generally take up the conclu- fion, before they have thoroughly examined the premifles : that is, upon fome prejudice in themfelves, or fome offence which they have taken at the weaknefs and folly of others, in the matter of Religion, they begin to doubt whether there be any truth at all in the matter, and then they hunt for arguments and obje- dions to improve that doubting into a formed disbelief or fettled infidelity.

ir. I proceed, in the next place, to confider that the Principles of Religion are of that high nature, and univcrfal concernment to mankind,

that

SERMON I. 19

that we cannot anfwer it to our own reafbn, to be unconcerned about them ; and therefore as Rational creatures ought to endeavour to be latisficd about them. It cannot be a matter of indifference to us, to know whether they be true or falfe, without betraying very great folly and indilcretion. I do not as yet argue from that vaft difference in our pradicai con- dud:, which ought to be the reafonable con- fequence of beheving thofe principles true, in relpcd: of what it may be fuppofmg them al- together falfe, as fuch condud: may arife from the confideration of what we may expedl from the hand of God, fuppofmg him to be what even natural Religion teaches us, for this I Ihall have occafion to mention * after- wards. But I fpeak now of that ufe which we ought to make of our Reafon and Underftand- ing, fuppofmg us left to our own condud:, and as yet knowing nothing of any fuperior Law to oblige or dired: us ; And even in this cafe. It feems to be very reafonable, that every creature ihould make the beft ufe of its own powers and faculties that it can, let thofe powers and faculties come from whence they will, from Chance orDefign ; and both to era- ploy and improve them in the beft manner

e X they

* ice Herm. ^,

20 SERMON I.

they are able to their own welbeing. And moft other creature^ do this, as far as we can judge, where there is nor any other force to hinder them. Now if men have Realon and Undeiftanding and a power of freely applying them to, and cxercifing them upon, difTerent Subjects, feme of which apparently tend more than ochers to the improving thofe faculties, and of rtndring the bell and moft valuable part of our nature more perfect and complear ; if we are in the leail confcious of our abilities, to chule how we will apply them, we cannot do our felves right without fuch appHcation; that is, If it be in our power to chufe how we will employ our Rea/on and Thought^ yet if we will not employ it upon what is proper to our nature, as reajonable creatures^ we are then certainly culpable in making a wrong ■ufe of our powers ; we are guilty to our felves and cannot be faid to have done our befl.

But if it Hiould be alledged, that we have indeed no fuch power at all, but that all our reafonings, and the application of our thoughts this w^ay or that way, are the mere effed: ot Matter and Motion cafually working. upon us, and that there is nothing voluntary in us, or any other Being whatfoever ; then I confefs men cannot well be charged with either help- ing

SERMON I. 21

ing or hindring their own rcafonings ; and ic would be in vain to go about to periiia ie them to think or reafon about any thing oi their own accord, or to tell them that they ought to take other methods of thuiking than they do ; fince they have not any thoughts or rea- fbnings at their own command. But yet how- ever, they ought not to be angry with us, or take it amiis, if we do advile them, becaufe upon liich a iuppofition, vvc can no more help doing this , than they can help doing the o- ther : That is, neither the one nor the other can think, orreaion, oradvife, orbeadviicd, or take any thing well or ill otherwifethan juft as they do ; and at this rate all Difcourfe and Rca- foning whatever would be no more than the winds blowing, or waves beating one againfl: another. And when men once come to this degree of ablurdity, and will flick to it, I can- not (cc how it is pofTiblc to apply any cure to them from reafon and argument. And yet to this abfurdity they mud come in the end, who will not allow any Principle in the world jdi~ flin6t from Matter and Motion ; for a tranl- verlc declination of Atoms is no npore Free- will, or a power of chufing and refuflng, than Itheir perpendicular delcent.

C 3 But

22 SERMON I.

But let it be allowed, that we have any power over our own actions, and can chufe which way we will apply our thoughts and reafonings, and determine our lelves to this or that fubjed:; if we are capable of any free ufe of the underjtanding^ in endeavouring to find out the ?neaning of any fro^ojition what- fieverj in confidering the nature of the Evi- dence for and againji it^ and in judging of it according to the feeming force or weak- nefs of the Evidence^ as thofe, who are plea- fed to call themfelves Free-thinkers, ought to grant, fince they make it the very Definition of Free-thinking , which they claim as their right; then if we would adllike men, that can ufe this power, we ought to confider our own fituation in the world, what rank and order we (land in, and wh'at relation we bear to o- ther Beings. The firft and mod natural thought ihould be how we came hither, and from whence wx had thofe powers and faculties of mind which we have, or think we have. And fmcc we may be very certain, that we did not make cur felves, or bring our felves into this part of the world , or chufe this rank of Be- ings in which we are placed; whether we be plealed or diipleafed with being what we arc, It is very reafonable for us to confider, whe- ther

SERMON I. 23

ther we have any power to continue our felves in this condition, if we hke it, or to alter and amend it, if we Hke it not. And if we alfo find that we have not any fuch abiHty as this abfolutely at our command, we ought then to enquire farther, whether there be without us any other fuperior Power, which may be any way concerned with us, or for us, from whom we may exped: or hope for aflift^nce, upon apphcation to it. And until we have made luch enquiry, we cannot be faid to have Ihewn any juft concern for our own being, and confe- quently have not adted reafonably towards our felves, if we have the power of making iuch enquiry, and negledt to put it in pradtice. Nay, farther, Suppofe that we have not of our felves gone this reafonable way to work at firf!:, but our thoughts have been carried a-r way at random to other matters of lefs mo- ment, without confidering what was a proper employment for them ; yet if only fome of our fellow-creatures have told us accidentally, that they believe, or have heard, that there is fome luch luperior Being as exercifes a power over us ; or fuppofe we our felves have had fome cafual fuggeflions about it in our own mind ; or upon viewing the things without us, fhould at any time have been apt to fufped:,

C 4 that

24 SERMON L

that fome intelligent Being, befides mankind , and more power .ul than man,might be concern- ed in it ; (and furely there is no man, that e- ver arrived to the ufe of reafon and dilcretion, but what muft, onetime or orher, have had as much notice of the Being of a God, as this comes to, prefented to his thoughts.) I lay, fuppofmg this, no man can excufe himfelf to his own reafoD , that w^ould never in earned examine, whether fuch inclination, fuggeftion or fufpicion had any ground or foundation: there being no cxercife of the mind more pro- per, becauie there is nothing in which a man's felf, and whatever belongs to his well-being, as a reafonable creature, is more immediately concerned than this. All other Ipeculations are foreign to us in refped: of this ; but this concerns our Mvcs molt intimately ; and there- fore, how much foever we may pity thofe, who, being fenfible of the nature and tenden- cy of the great Principles of Religion, Ajid how much it imports mankind to be well af- fured whether they be true or no, do therefore labour feriouily to find out the truth, but by entering into a wrong method of enquiry, cannot as yet arrive at any fatisfadlion about it, but are full of doubts and fcruples, which they endeavour to have cleared up by the bed

iufor-

SERMON L 25

information they can procure : Yet for thofe who wilhngly chufe to employ themfelves upon any other enquiry that comes in their way, rather than this ; not becaufe they are al- ready fatisfied about this , but becaufe they care not whether ever they be, and therefore are as indifferent and unconcerned, about knowing whether there be a God or a future State of their own Souls, as they are whether the Moon or other Planers be inhabited ; one can hardly tell how to bear iuch a proceeding, without indignation at io great an abufe of their realon ; and a man had need to have all the compaffion which the Chriftian Religion teaches us, to be earnelily concerned for thole- who can even boafl: of their being fo wilfully unconcerned for themlelves.

The remaining confiderarions (which will farther enforce this) I Ihall referve to the next opportunity.

Now unto the King eternal^ immortal^ tnvtfible , the only wife God, be ho- nour and glory , for ever and ever. iAmen.

lis" \

SERMON

SERMON 11.

Preached February the 4'^' 17;*.

JK $ $ <; $ iK ^K iK rV. "iH rK •!■ fK •:• $ $ •!• •!• •!{ %' >:• •!• •!• •%' -K $ $ $ S* •!; $ •;• •{;

Heb. iii. 12.

Take heed J brethren ^ lejl there be in any of you an evil heart of unbeliefs in departing from the living God,

N my former difcourfe, upon this fnbjcd:, I propo fed to apply my felf chiefly to fuch as deny or dif- pute againfl the common Princi- ples of Religion, not only Chriftian but Natu- ral, and luch as think it a very innocent or indifferent matter, either to believe them or not believe them, as it iliall happen, as having refped only to their prefent conveni- ence, and not thinking themielves concerned

about

'tis/I,

28 SERMON II.

about any future conlequcnces : And my de- figii was ro endeavour to periuade them from common reafon, that it is their duty not to be unconcerned in the cafe, and let the mat- ter go at random, without troubhng their heads about it, but to give the arguments that have been, or may be offered in behalf of the principles of Religion, a fair, ferious and im- partial hearing and examination : And in or- der to this, I defired that the following parti- culars might be confidered without prejudice.

I. That there may be other probable caufes of Infidelity often afTigned, befides want of evidence, for the matter propofed to be be- heved, even when this is pretended as an ex- cufe for it; becaufe it is evident, that in all other cafes men's interefts, pafTions, or other indifpofitions, will prevent them from feeing the force of an argument, which is in its own nature very good, and fufficieut to convince another man, that is not fo indifpofed.

II. That the principles of Religion are of that high nature and univerfal concernment to mankind, that we cannot anfwer it to our ow^n Reafon to be unconcerned about them ; and therefore that we mufl, as rational crea- tures, endeavour to be well fatisfied one way

or

SERMON IT. 29

or other about them. To find oat the truth in this cafe is the mod proper employment of our realbn and under (landing.

III. That if we have fufficient reafon to be- heve the great principles of Reh'gion ; fuch as the Being of a God, and a Providence, and a future State, &c. our unbelief will not excuie us from being criminal in the fight of God.

IV. That it is unrcafonable for any man to endeavour to perluade others out of the prin- ciples of Religion, till he himfelf is firfl: evi- dently convinced that they are falie, and dif- advantdgious to mankind.

V. That it is dill more unreafonablc to make them the liibjed; of raillery and ridicule.

The two firft of thefe are what I have al- ready fpoken to, and iliall now proceed to the third, viz.

III. That if we have fufficient reafon to believe the great principles of Religion, luch as the Being of a God and a Providence, and a future flare after this life, &c. Our unbelief will not excufe us from being criminal in the fight of God. I have already fliewn, that we are indeed culpable to our lelves and incxcu- fable to our owp reafon, if we make no en- quiry

30 SERMON II.

quiry into thofe things in which our own flare and condition is fb nearly concerned : and we adt againft our nature, as we are reafonable beings, when we are unconcerned about them. The thing that I would now confider is, whe- ther if we have fufficient arguments laid before us, to prove the Being and Attributes of God, provided we make anhoneft and impartial ufe of our own reafon and underftanding, we may not be obliged at our own peril to attend to them. That is, luppofing God to be the fovereign Governor of the world, and to rake notice of all the adions and difpofitionsof men, and to have given them laws, either naturally arifing from the conftitution of things, or revealed from himfeii-^ and to have fet up a (landing proof of fuch his being ; whether all rational creatures, that are capable of knowing hirr, be not under fuch a natural obligation to take notice of him, that they may be juftly made to fuffer, i. e. may be puniftied for their negledl of it. And this I think may be confident with the highefl: reafon ; and disbelief may be criminal, where the motives to believe are fuffi- cient to convince any honed mind, and fuch as no man can be ignorant of without fome previous fault of his own will, and the things offered to our belief fuch as every man mufl

necef-

SERMON 11. 31

necefTarily own himfelf to be concerned in. St. Taul fpeaking of the Gentile world who had revoked from the true knowledsie of God, and become vain in their imaginations and rcafonings about him, haviug laid down this as a principle, that, That which may be known of God is manifefl among them^ for God hath jhewed it unto them ; for the in- *vifible things of him, from the creation of the world are clearly feen^ being tinder flood by the things that are made^ even his eternal Tower andGodhead : Concludes from thence, that they were without excufe, becaufe that when they knew God, \. e. had fuch evident natural means of knowing him, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, 8cc. I do not here urge this palTage of St. Taul, as of an infpired writer, by way of Authority to decide the point in hand : but I produce it on- ly as an argument from reafon and the nature of the thing, which carries its own weight along with it, abftradcd from any fuperior au- thority ; and the plain fenfe of the argument is this, That if God hath fliewed fufficient evidence of his own Being and Power, unro all , mcu'.from the frame of things, they are with- out cxcufewho take no notice of him, nor ac- knowledge any dependence upon him ; and

con-

32 SERMON 11.

Gonfequently, if he be a Jaw-giver and a judge (as has been univerfally allowed by thoie who own'd him, as the maker and governor of the world) he muft make a difference between thofe who ad" in conformity to the nature of things, freely owning their natural (late of fubjedion to him, and thofe who renounce fuch order of fubjcdlion : and he may deal with thole men as offenders, who difown his Authority by bringing his Being into queflion. Ado of unbelief being indeed no other (in this cafe) than ads of wilful difobedience, w here the evidences of his Being are fb plain, that it muft be the fault of the Will and not of the Under- ftanding, if we be not moved by them ; af?eded ignorance will be no cxcufc in fuch a cafe, where the means of iniormation are io obvious.

It is well known, that there have been Ibme of late years among us, who have publickly fet themfelves to weaken the force of this argument, by infmuating, that if a man iliould be fuppoled to incur any pe- nalty from the hand of God for want of any belief, though it were even that of his own Being, it would be a great diminution to that entire Freedom of thinking, which they pre- tend God has made the natural right of every man, and which it cannot be confiftent

with 4

SERMON 11. 33

with his goodnefs thus to abridge. And they farther tell us that ^ a man may poffefs his Soul in peace ^ as having an expe^attOTi of eiijoy- ing all the good things ':sjhich God can bc- ftow , and no fear of any future mifery , or evil, from his hands ; and the very 'ji'orfi of his fate can only be^ that he is pleufantly deceived. Now if thele patrons oi Free-think- ing (as they defire to be called) would keep honeftly to their own definition of Free-think- ing, and mean no more by it than only ^ the life of the underftanding^ in endeavouring to find ont the meaning of any fropofition isuhat- foever, in conjidering the nature of the evi- dence for and again fl it, and in judgifig of it according to the feeming force or vueaknefs of the evidence ; I know no man of undcr- flanding and integrity that could judly oppofe fuch freedom. For it will readily be granted by all, that "^ wen zzho ttfe their tin derfi an dings, mufi have more fenfe than they vuho ufe them not : for they are improved by ufe and appli- cation, as other faculties are : and I haVe before obfcrved, that we are under a natural obliga* tion, even to our own reafon, to make the bcfl: ule and improvement of them that we D can.

^ V. Free-thinhin^, p. 38. '' /•• 5- '^ P- !-'-•

34 SERMON II.

can. But if inftead of defendifjg men's right to ufe their underftjndings; under the name of Free think'uigj they areplealed to call any odd or extravagant opinion Free thinkings pro- vided it be bur contrary to thofe which are commonly received ; a man mufl: ufe his un- derllanding very untowardly, that can believe this confident with the definition. For if, as theie authors feem to allow (whether fmcerely or not I will not now examine) '^ The know- ledge of fome truths be requtred of us by God; and if the' knowledge of others be ufe" fulto fociety^ then certainly the holding at alf adventures, and without any lerious examina- tion, affertions contradictory to fuch truths or inconfiilent with them, cannot be any inltance of {\ic\i free-t hinking as we have a right to, but either want of thinking or an abufe of it.

I am very ready to acknowledge, that God has never obliged us to know or believe any truth, but what he has given us fome previous means of knowings or iufficient ground of believing : but then on the other hand he may certainly, without any 'impeachment of his' goodnefs, oblige us to ufe thofe means honeft- ly, and require a fmcere love of truth from us. He may, in order to our own happinels, forbid

pride

^ Paz. 6.

S E R M O N II. 35

pride and felf-conceit, and afFecStacions of An- gularity ; and enjoin us to lay afide malice and envy, and to fee that no undue prejudice or partiality mix themfelves in our fearches of truth. He that allows us to reafbn freely, may certainly command us to reafon juilly and attend to proper and competent arguments to prove any truth which he requires us to know, and to be moved by rational induce- ments to believe. And in what way foever he condefcends to teach us, we ought to be rea- dy to be informed. Now thefe authors grant that '^ to be informed confifts in being fnadeto think juftly and truly of thiJtgs ; and to be obliged to this in the application of our rea- fon, is no more contrary to the free ule of our underftanding, than obliging us to the practice of virtue and morality is to the free- dom of our wills. To think freely in the finding out any truth requires, not that we lliould think or judge of in juft what we piealc, but that we illould confider impartially the nature of the evidence for and againft it ; and when we have all the light we can procure, then to be determined by fuperior evidence. But to contradict a truth, without enquiring D 2 into

- ■ ■ 1 «. II ' ■ — • — —

« pdg. 15,

3^ SERMON II.

into ir, only becaufe it is vulgarly received^ when to a confidering man there is good evi- dence for it, is not free-thinking but bondage of thought. For a man's reafoning may be as much bound and his thinking as much biafled by taking a prejudice againft any thing, as for it; and he thinks juft as freely, that takes all current opinions for true, as he that takes them all for falfe ; that is indeed neither the one nor the other. In truths which are capable of fuflicicnt proof, either Moral or Mathema- tical, he ought not to be accounted a Free- thinker who at the firft appearance boldly denies them before he has confidered the evi- dence. For inflance, Suppofe any man not entered in Mathematicks, upon viewing a great variety of Triangles and other figures, ihould take a fancy to deny that the three angles of any triangle are equal to two right angles^ or to the three angles of any other triangle^ becaufe he will not give himfelf the trouble of confidering the demonftration, fuch a pradice would hardly be called freedom of realbning, but want of it. When M\:.Hbbbes, *who is alledged for an inflance of Free-thinking, pre- tended with great confidence to have demon- ftrated the quadrature of a circle, thofp who

had

* lb. f. I.

SERMON 11. 57

had thought more freely and were better able to judge of the matter, thought that his faftus and lelf conceit had hindred his thinlyng from being fo free and impartial in the cafe as it ought to have been, though he thought fit to write Contra fafltim profcjforum Geometric- He whofe thoughts are juftefl, and nioft ac- cording to the nature of things, is the true!]: Free-thinker^ and it is not the open profef- fion of every wild and incoherent fancy which comes into a man's head, that is fit to deno- minate him luch. For Thinking, even according to their own definition, implies Realoning but the affirming any propofirion without jud ground or the denying any propofuioq at a venture without examining, or the refqfing fuch affent as the nature ot the evidence re- quires, is not Reafoning, and therefore not Thinking, much lefs free-thinking according to the definition. For, according to thele au- thors, ^ What is a reflraint of free- thinking on any fubje£i, but fime^juhat which hinders me from thinking on that fnbje6i ? 'Tis no matter therefore whether the hindrance be from without or from within, provided I am hindred. But I believe the greateft and mofl infuperable hindrances to feedom of thinking

D 3 and

38 SERMON II.

and reafoning, are fuch as men put themfelves under, by indulging their pride or. their palTi- ons, their pleafure or their floth. Free-think- ing (as thefe Authors allows) requires great diligence and amplication of mind-, and he that af plies himfelf to it^ muft, by that ha- bit ^ expel all thofe vicious difpojitions and fajfions^ by which every man out of aEiion is tojfed and governed', therefore they that will not be at the pains firfl: to free themfelves from all thofe vicious difpofirions, which hin- der them from being impartial and fuicere iri their fearches of truth, do in vain arrogate to themfelves the fpecious title o^ Free-thinkers ; which indeed would be aTitle of honour, if it were applied to none but thofe who truly de- ferve it, by a free and ingenuous ufe of their reafon in the finding out of truth, and honeft- Jy fubmitting to it when found. But when it is applied to thofe who have no other pre- tence to it, except the affuming a liberty of denying the plained truths^ and reducing all reafon to downright fcepticifm; wc cannot but then think the name has loft much of its reputation by being fb mifapplied.

True liberty of adion does not confifl: in

doing

S Paz. Ill

SERMON 11. 39

doing what we pleale without any controul, but in being free from all outward force, to govern our lelves by the law of realon ; and he is no more free rhat is the flave of his own paffions,. than he that is under iiibjed:ion to the mere will of another man. So freedom of thinking does not confifl: in an ability to difTent from the principles of reafon, but ia being fuperior to all thofe prejudices, either from our {ehes or others, which hinder us from afl'enting to them. If therefore God hath given us fuch a liberty, he may, with the higheft reafon, make us re/ponfible to himlelf for the ufe of it : and to fuppofe that we are io refponfible is not to deny this freedom, but to affert it ; becaufe if we had it not we could not be anfvverable for the abufe of it. Now upon this foundation, we are not only allow- ed, but obliged, to enquire into the grounds of Religion, and bring them to a fair and im- partial examination : and the reafon why God Almighty may juftly condemn us for our in- fideliry is, becaufe, if we ufe this freedom ho- neftly, we cannot fail of feeing fiifficient rea- fon to convince us. Whatever evil confequen- ces therefore are threarned to thofe that will not believe, they are not defigned to hinder our freedom of enquiry into the grounds of

D 4 our

40 SERMON II.

our belief, but to excite our diligence , and fecure our integrity, in enquiring. If the evi- dence of a fopreme Being that governs the; world, and fome other firft principles of Re- ligion , be Inch as will not force it felf upon us without our own attention, that there may be fomething voluntar}^ in our faith ; but yet be fuch as cannot, without a manifeft wilful mifufe of our undcrftanding , be withflood when attended to,it muft be an evil heart of unbelief xh^t dcpSLVtsfrom the living God. And the natural confequeuces of luch departure may be very miferable ; and what they will be we may with moll certainty learn from himfelf Upon this principle the Chriftian Re- ligion, though it condemns thole that wilfully refufe to hearken to it, yet, confcious of its own truth and fmcerity, it freely offers it felf to the llridtell: Icrutiny, and commands us t6 p'ove all things in order to hold faji that which is good: which two are no ways incon- fiflent with one another. For where an im- partial enquiry will ncceffarily lead us to the acknowledgmeni: of a fundamental truth, there the owning of that truth may as juftly be the iubjcdt: of a command, as the fmcere ufe of the means leading to it ; and God may punifli she perveifenefs of our wills in one cafe, as well as the other, I Ihall

SERMON 11. 41

I fhall not at prefent urge this point any farther , becaufe I may have occafion ^' here- after to fay fomething upon the Hke argu- ment; when I come to Ihew that we may he under a natural obligation to the beUef of a God, and may make our felves uncapable of receiving any good from him by a denial of his Being.

Therefore I proceed now in the next place to confider;

IV. That it is unreafonable for any man to endeavour to perfuade others out of the prin- ciples of Religion , till he himfelf is firft evi- dently convinced that they are falfe, and dil^ advantageous to mankind. I do not hereby mean that a man, who has any real doubts or fcruples in his mind concerning the validity of any argument, even for the principal points of Religion, ihould not have liberty fairly to propole his doubts to fuch as have ability to judge of them, in order to have the matter freely debated, and thereby fet in the cleared light : for this may be part of a juft and ne- ceflary inquiry towards the full fatisfad:ion of ^ man's own mind. And I am well perfuaded,

that

^ See Serm, the p'^.

42 SERMON 11.

that fuch an ingenuous liberty would never do any harm to true Religion, which is never a- fraid of a fair and impartial trial. And there- fore I am not now begging quarter for the principles of Rehgion, as if I were afraid that thefe men had fo.ne unanfwerable arguments which, if known, would quite deftroy thofe principles : but my meaning is, that no man can pretend a right, without breaking in upon thehberties of other people, to go about open- ly to perfuade others to that, of which he himlelf is not folly perfuaded. And if this were granted , I believe that thofe who dif^ pute in favour of Atheiftical principles would be reduced to a fmall number. For however odd and fingular fbme men may love to appear, in their reafbnings with others ; yet if we could come at their fecret thoughts of the matter at all their different hours, I do nor queflion but we ihould find, that they have many fecret mif- givings in their minds upon their own profefl ar- guments; however they may outwardly feem to bear up againfi: fuch inward doubts or fears.

The Epicurean poet himfelf fairly owns this, when he tells us, that ' though there are fome

men

» Nam quod fsepe homines raorbos magis effe tiinendos, Infamemq; ferunt viram quam tartara led,

Et

SERMON 11. 43

men who openly frofefs not to be afraid of

future ptnifhment fo much as of a fit of fie k-

nefis, as knowing the Soul to be mortal^ and

needing no farther argument to prove it ; yet

it may be obferved-, that this is all rather

pretence and affe^ation^ than any real per^

fuafion from the truth of the thing. For let

the fame men be banijhed from human fociety

for any crime-, and they pre fently become the

mofl miferable creatures^ and fall to the moft

abjeB fuperftition. In times of adverfity

men's minds are mofl fenfibly affected towards

Religion : in fuch times therefore a matCs

real fentiments are to be known , when the

inmoft truth will break out , and he can no

longer perfonate what he really is not.

This

Et fe itire animi naiu.am langmnis efle, Ne: prorfum quidquam nollrse rationis egere ; Hinc licet advortas nnimura magis omnia laudis, Aut etiam vetiti (fi fcrt ita forte voluntas) Jadtari cauf^i, quam quod res ipfa probetur; Extorres iidem patria, longeq; fiigati Ccnfpertu ex hominum tosdati crimine turpi. Omnibus aerumnis adfefti deniq; vivunt; Et quocunq^; tarn en mileri venere, parentant, Et nigras mactant pecudes Z< manibu' divis Inferias ir.ittunt; mulioq; in rebus acerbis Acriiis advortunt animos ad Relligionem, Quo magis in dubiis hominem fpedare periclis Convenit, advorfifq; in rebus nofcere quid fir. Nam verae voces turn demum pedore ab imo Ejiciuntur; & eripitur perfona, manet res.

Lmret. lib. 3. 'fi. ^i.

44 SERMON II.

This free confeflion, from one whofe pro- fed defign it was to deftroy entirely all belief of a Providence, plainly iliews, that there are very ftrong propenflons in human nature to the belief of invifible powers, and of a future account, which cannot eafily be deftroyed ; and which therefore have a deeper foundation in the nature of things than iorae men are willing to own : and though men drive to root them out at fome feafons , and in fbme companies ; yet at other times they cannot prevent their fpringing up again m their own icinds. And indeed* we plainly find,* that mod of thofe very men who defignedly iht themfelves to overthrow the force of all other men's arguments, for the being of a God and his Providence; yet when they themfelves come to reafon in earned about it, of their own accord, they generally bring themfelves lo own it in effetSt, upon Ibme principle or o- rher of their own edablilhing, which perhaps in reality has not ib much weight in ir, as thofe wiiich they defpife becaufe they are common. This ihewS, that though their pride and lelf- conceit make them willing to decry the rea- sonings of all other men , yet they are no ways inwardly fatisfied with the contrary con- clufioD. They can of themfelves fee the ab-

furdity

SERMON II. 45

furdity of denying the Exiftence of fuch a Be- ing, though they quarrel with the premifes upon which any other men endeavour to prove it. Now this proceeding is what may be jufl- \y complained of, that men Ihould go about by all ways to weaken the belief of that in others, which they themfelves, at the bottom, either own to be true, or at lead are not ful- ly fansfied of the contrary. This would hard- ly be thought fair and equal dealing in any other cafe; and much lels ihould it be fo in this, which is of the utmoft concern to all men. It is an unreafonable practice in refped: of God Almighty, fiippollng him to be; and in refpedl of men, iuppofmg them to believe his Being. For,

I. Suppofe it be true, that there is a God and a Providence, and that thefe men are not fo hardy, as to pretend abfolutcly to demon- Arate the contrary ; it may be that he is fiich a govcrnour of the world as is with all a King or magiftrate, a Lawgiver, and judge of men's adtions, as the generality of men do, in fome refpec!! or other, own him to be. Now if I go about to weaken men's belief of his Being, or to argue againft it, what am I doing all the while but ieducing them, as much as I can, from that natural allegiance which they think

they

4^ SERMON 11.

they owe him ? I am certainly dellroying his Title, if I am either making his Being un- certain, or perfuading men that he has no ftich relation to them, or concern for them. Snppofing then it were not yet known, what puniiliment he would inflid: upon fuch fedu- cers, yet certainly they could not but of themfelves think it reafonable, thathe fhould treat them in a different manner from his faithful fubjeds. Though hisgoodnefs be in- finite, as no doubt it is, yet it cannot but look upon fuch men as criminal; and the greater his goodnels is, the more criminal it is to abufe it , and to withdraw others from it. This makes it an unreafonable pradice in iefpcd of God Almighty. But,

2. In relped of men, who are fuppofed to believe his Being, it is unreafonable, becaufe iinlefs we are very fure that they are under a delufion, and that we can certainly bettet their condition by undeceiving them, we ad very unkindly and uncharitably towards them, in trying to perfuade them that they are de- ceived in an opinion or belief of that Beings on which they think their chief happinefs de^ pends.

A certain author, who is not generally thought to have any prejudice or partiality in

favour

S E R M O N II. 47

favour of revealed Religion, owns, ^ It ism- ^ojfible that any but an tU-natured man can '•ju'ijh agamfl th% Being of a God^ for this is wijh'ing againft thepiblhk^ and even againji one's own private good too , if rightly un- derftood : Now cert -.inly, what cannot be wilh'd againft without great ill-nature towards mankind, cannot be attempted to be difpro- Ved with any good natured defign towards fuch as really believe it. For if it really be an happinefs to mankind that there is a God, the prefent fenfe of that happinefs mufl, in a great meafure, depend upon their knowing or believing that there is one. Upon which ac- count I cannot but wonder at another fay- ing * of the fame author, which feems to contradid: the former. That, as Religion ftands amongft us, there are a great many good people^ who would have lefs fear in be- ing expofed, (to forlorn nature and a father- Icls world) and would ue eajter perhaps in their minds if they were ajpired they had only mere Chance to truft to. For no body trembles to think there Jhould be no God., but rather that there Jhould be one. But certainly every good man would tremble to think he had been thus

deceived

^ Letter of Enthnfiafm, />. 35. * Pag. 40.

48 SERMON li;

deceived in all his expecftations. This thought would be more terrible to him, than the prd- Ipedt of lofing the kindeft ayd bed parent in the world in the moft helplefs condition ; for do what he will he can never be iecurc againft any kind of mifery, where Chance alone go- verns all things. So that a rational creature cannot be eafy under the apprehenfion of be- ing lb expofed any way, but by thinking as little as poffible of his own circumflances, that is, by diverting himfelf of reafon and thought. But under the condud: of an infi- nitely wife, and good and powerful Being, he may be lure that no real harm can befal him without his own fault. And therefore if a man were even fully perfuaded in his own mind, that there is no God, yet fo long as he knows, that the belief of him is what all good men may take comfort in, it would be a very fpiteful and ill-natured thing to endeavour to rob them of this comfort, without propofing ibmething better and more certain. But when he can pretend to no fuch full perluafion him- felf, but only to be doubtful or fceptical in the matter, to attempt the fame thing is into- lerable. They who are weak enough to ima- gine, that the principles of Religion have no real foundation, but were at firft invented by

wile

SERMON II. 49

wife men for the good government of the world and ro keep tnankind in order, are there- by obhged to acknowledge their ufefulnefs ro the well-being of humane fociety. And there- fore, even upon their own fuppofition, it would be unreafonable for them to weaken the force of thofe principles, if they confulted either the good of others or themidves, uniefs they could propofe Ibme other method which would evidently have a more univerfal good effed:. It would certainly be their wilefl: way to keep this fecret to themfelves, if they were lure they had it; but when they arenotfure, it is both fooliili and malicious to pretend to perfuade others that they have it. And upon the whole I cannot but think it a reafonable caution, which Tully puts into the mouth of Balbus the Stoic^ in the conclufioa of his ar- gument for Providence, that ^ it is an evil and impious cuftom to difpite againft the Being of a God, whether it be done in earneji or only in pretence and affeB.ation.

This leads me to confider in the laft place,

V. That it is (till more unreafonable to make thefe principles of Religion the fubjed;

E of

' Mala enim & impia confuetudo eft contra Deos diipu- tandi, five ex animo id fit, five fimulate. De Kat. Dsor, in fine.

50 SERMON II.

of raillery and ridicule. For whatever may be pretended by thofe who fometimes difpute againft Rehgion, that rhey do it to excite o- thers to the more vi;j;orous defence of it, and to clear up any arguments that may be d6ubt- ful or oblcure : Nothing of this kind can be alledged in favour of jelling upon it or ridi- cuhng it ; becaule this is treating it as not fit to be ferioufly confidcred. For no man of fenfe ever treats that with ridicule which he does not either think contemptible, or defiga to make Co. Wherever the life or eftate, or, very great interefl: of any man is concerned, a man of an ordinary capacity will naturally fay, fuch a thing is no Jeflmg matter. Now certainly, the Being of a God and a future Judgment, and the like, are things of vaftly more moment to thofe who believe them, than the greateft worldly intereft can be, and this even they,that pretend nottobehevethem cannot but know ; and therefore if they had no other realbn to reftrain them, yet even De- cency and relpedt to the common fentiments of mankind iliould make them forbear fuch unleafonable jelling.

I know there are fome that think it a plau- fible plea which is offered in excule of this

Pra-

SERMON II. 51

Pradicc, when it faid that '" " R'tdknle is " the proper ttft of what is f-.rious, bccaufe " a fubjed: rhat will not bear raillery is :uf- " picious, juH: as a jeft that will not bear a leri- *■ ous examination is falfe wit ; and that " which can be Ihewn only in a certain li^hr, " is quedionable. Truth 'tis fuppoled may " bear all hght«, and one of thole principal " lights or natural Mediums, by which things " are to be viewed, in order to athorouohre- " cognition, is ridicu'e it Icli, or that manner " of proo by which we difcern whatever is " liable to juft raillery in any lubjcd:. From hence they would infinuatc, " that true Reli- " gion can never fuffer by this method, though " impoliure may. That ridicule, if it be " wrong placed, will recoil upon itfclf,- and " be its own CorrecStor in the end, and To it " may without any harm be freely left to take " its courfe. " And as an inflance of this it is alledged, that •" the divtneft man that had appeared ever in the heatheji world was, in the height of witty times andhy the wit tie ft of all Toets^ moft abomitiahly ridiculed in a whole Comedy writ and a^ed on purfofe

E X But

m Vli. EJJ'a^ on the Freedotn of zv'tt and humour y^. Oi^ S^C. f Letter concern'mg EnthuliAfm, ^, jr.

K2 SERMON II.

But fo far was this from finking his reputa- tion^ or fuppr effing his Thilofophy^ that they both increafed the more for it ; and he ap- parently grew to be more the envy of other Teaches. He was not only contented to be ridiculed^ but, that he might help the Toet as much as pofjible, he Prefented himfelf o- penly in the Theatre, that his real figure (which was no advantagious one) might be compared with that which the witty ^oet had brought as his reprefentative on the Stage. Such was his good humour. Nor could there be in the world a greater tefti- mony of the invincible goodnefs of the man , or a greater demonflration that there was no hnfofture either in his character or opinions. This is thought a fpecious p!ea for the free- dom of this kind of wit upon all fubjeds.

But now granting, that Truth irielf cannot fuffer by fuch ulage, for what is true cannot be made falTc by being ridicul'd, yet certain- ly it may lofe very much of that good effed: which ic might orherwile have upon the minds of men, by being thus treated.

Thole vyith whom we are now arguing will readily allow, that all Men are not competent Judges of wit, nor can at the firO: appearance, without examinarior, diftinguiili between what

is

SERMON II. $3

is ridiculed and what really deferves to be lb. And therefore, though a man by unfealbnable jefting upon a wrong fubjedt, may in tlie end make himfcif truly ridiculous, yet to thole who cannot prefently difcernthe falfe wit, the fubjed: itfelf in the mean time appears con- temptible, and much mifchief may be done before the proper cure can be applied. And of this the cale of Socrates, now alledged, and the pernicious effcd: this kind of wit had> in bringing him unjuftly to death, is a very plain inftance. For whenthofe who defigned his mine durft not attempt it in the way of a publick accufation, becaufe of the great e- fteem which men of virtue and underftanding had for him, till they had firft prepared the populace to bear it, they hired ° Ariftophanes to ufe all his wit to expofe him upon the Scage in a Comedy, after the mod ludicrous manner ; which he vyas the more eafily induced to do, becaufe Socrates (though a perfon of as much true wit and good humour as any man of his age, yet) had always expreffed a great averfion to that fcurrilous and illiberal fort of wit, for which Artftophanes valued him- felf. And thus when they had, by means of E 3 the

o Vd. iSliani Var. Hift. I z. ca^. 13.

54 SERMON 11.

the Poet, made the Philoiopher and his dodlrine the objed: of fcorn and conrempt, among rhe deluded people, they could then luccefsfully profecute their villanous intentions againfl him„ I grant indeed, that alter wards, when the people came to themfelves, they dearly re- pented of this delufion : and that this ulagein P the eitd proved the htgheft advantage to that charaBer and do Brine ^ ijvhich having flood the proof were found fo folid and juft. But what is this to rhe purpofe ? Is this practice the more commendable, becaufe Truth and fincerity will be able to ftand the Ihock of it ? Is a malicious piece of wit, or a falfe accula- tion, ever the more innocent, becaufe the in- tegrity and reputation of him who is thus at- tacked will after tryal lliiiie the brighter ? What ibme of thofe who look upon tHemfelves as the only polite writers may think, I cannot tell ; but a man of plain and ordinary under- Handing mull needs take this for a very odd way of defending what they call the Free- dom of wit and hnmonr upon all fubjeBs ; cipecially by one who had before told uj?, "" He "never heard that the antient Heathens were fo well advifcd in their ill ptirpoje of fiip-

prejfmg

V Lettsr ccncernmg Enthufiafm, J^. 32., 'J ib. p. 2.9.

SERMON IL 55

fr effing the Chriftian Religion in its fir Ji rifiy as to make ufi at any time of this (Bayfle- me-'jufair) method: But he is perfuaded of this^ that had the truth of the Gofpel been any way fnrmountahky they would have bid mtich fairer for the filencing it^ if they had chofe to bring our primitive founders upon the ft age in a pleafanter way than that of bear skins and pitch-barrels \ and he is apt to think, that if the Jews had tried their wit and malice this way ag^ainft our Saviour and his Apoftles, they might poffibly have done our Religion more harm than by all their other ways of fever ity.

This it feems is allowed ro be the mofl pro- bable way of doing mifchief to Religion, but the tryal of it is recommende J, becaufe Truth will in the end be fiiperior to it. And whe- ther any other wicked method oi abufing or fupprefiing truth may not be defended upoa the fame principle, That great is Truth and will prevail, I may leave to any man's confideration. However, that we may not wrong this Author, it muftbeowned, that he fomerimcs fpeaks of treating Religion with good manners, and ' tells us, he writes in de- E 4 fence

*■ £j(/<»y on the Freedom of wit and humour, t>- 7 5, l6.

56 SERMON II.

fence only of that fort of freedom which is taken among gentlemen and friends^ who ^ know one another ^erfeBly well\ and though as to what paffes in feleB company ^ where friends meet knowingly^ and with that very defi^n of exercifing their wit and looking freely into all fubjeBs^ he fees no pretence for any one to be offended at the way of rail- lery and humour^ which is the very life of fiich converfatioit\ yet he owns thot to Jfart queftions^ or manage debates which offend the pub lick ear^ is to be wanting in that re- fpeB which is due to common fociety^ and that fitch fibieCis Jhould either not be treated at all in public k^ or tn fuch a manner as to occaflon no fcandal or diflurbance ; that the fublick is not on any account to be laughed at^ to its face, and that the lovers of man- kind refpe6i and honour conventions and fb- cieties of men^ more than this comes to.

Now it would be lome happinefs, if thefe witty Gentlemc^n would be pcrfuaded to con- tain themfelves within fuch bounds. But that I am afraid will be very difficult, fince if the plea before mentioned, in defence of Ridicule, have any weight in it, it will certainly carry them much farther. And indeed, we feldom find any of thofe, who think they have abun- dance

SERMON II. 57

dance of vvir, fit to be exercifed on all iub- jeds, but they are very impatient of having it confined to fo narrow a compais. It would be almoft as ealy to perluade lome men, that they want wit, as to prelcriberhemfuch limits in the ule of it. The truth is, though one would think it but a very reafonable requefl, that men fliould forbear making a jeft of any ferious argument, efpecially in matters of great moment, till chey have by fair reafbning Hievvn it to be ablhrd or ridiculous; yet generally fpeaking, thefe bold fort of Jefters take the contrary method ; they make ufe of fcofling and ridicule as a crutch to fupply their defedt of true arguments, or as a cover to keep their falfe ones from being lerioufly examined. But to conclude this matter, if men would really adt according to the principles of reafbn, or the rules of decency, or a juft concern even for their own reputation among confiderate men, they would not venture to treat the principles of Religion in a manner fb unbe- coming the nature of the thing, and fo high- ly ofTenfive to all that believe it ; and above all, for any thing they can know to the con- trary, fo infinitely dangerous to themfelves in the ifTue, if it be really true. And fuch I

hope

58 SERMON III.

hope it will appear to all impartial enquirers afrer truth, when it comes to be fairly exa- mined.

And thus I have gone through thofe feveral confiderations which I propoied at firft, not as a proof of the truth and certainty of the principles of Religion, but as a pfep-trative tcv ards the fincere and impartial weighing and examining of them. For J am fuliy per- luaded, if this could but be obtained, iniide- ' lity might foon be convinced of its own weak- nefs, fmce the ftrength of it lies not io muc{i in real argument as in unreafonable prejudice.

The fumm therefore of what I would ear- neflly recommend, to all thofe who defire to find the truth in matters of Raligion, is Sin- cerity of heart. Let them ferioufly and ho- neftly examine their own hearts in the firft place, before they offer to judge of the evi- dence; whether there be not in them any latent prejudice againft: Religion, any fecret wifli or defire that it may not be true, be- caufe of its croffing fome favourite paffion or vitious inclination, which they would wil- lingly puriiie without controul ; whether there

- ■ be

SERMON 11. 59

be nothing of inward pride or felfconceir, which makes them afFe(i an opinion, becaufe it is lingular or new, or rejedl one becaule it is old or vulgar ; and whether they have not taken unreafbnable offence at all Religion, be- caufe of the abufes that have been made of ir, and to avoid one extreme, have without con fi deration run into another : Becaufe any of thcfc, or the like prejudices, will certainly indifpoie rhem towards the fmcere fearch of truth ; and will make both the arguments and objedtions appear very different from what they really are.

Purity of heart is the furefl way to fee God, even in this fcnfe of feeing him.

And that there may not be found in any of u'^ an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God^ may that Supreme Being grant unto us AU.

SERMON

SERMON III

Preached March the 4'^ 17 17.

Heb. xi. 6,

But without Faith it is impoffible to pleafe God : For he that cometh to Gody muji believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that ddigently feek him,

H E great deflgn of the Apoftle in this whole Chapter, is to iet forth the nature and efFcds of Fa'tth^ which, as we are told in the firft vcrfe, is the Jttbjtance of things hoped fovy the evidence of things not Jeeuy i.e. it is

a firm

62 SERMON III.

a firm perfuafion of mind concerning the trutit of (braething future, which we hope for, and exped; will hereafter come to pafs : and a conviction of the real exiftence offome things, which are either in their own nature invifible to bodily eyes, or which, at leaft to us, cannot acprefent befeen, became they are at a diftance in refped: of place or of time, paft or future. And by this, he fays, the elders ob- tained a good report : .That is, by virtue of This belief of an invifible principle, and a per- fuafion of the reality of things not fubjed: to fenfe , thofe who lived in the earlier ages of the world, behaved themfelves fo towards the Supreme Being, and towards their fellow- crea- tures, with whom they converfed, that their names were thought fit to be tranfmitted to po- fterity for their piety and virtue, in that Reve- lation which God was afterwards pleafed to make of his will : and therefore the inftances, that are mod particularly infilled on, are of thofe who lived before any written Revelati- on, and were governed by thefe firft and natu- ral principles of Religion ; though by keeping to them, they had fometimes particular difco- veriesof the will of God vouchfafed to them, in this Chapter therefore we have, as it were, the firft elements of Religious faith laid down

and

SERMON III 6^

and excmplifiec!, in the practice and behavi- our of rholc vvht'.fe liv.es were influenced by it.

The firfl inftance which he gives of Fairh, is a general behef of the Creation of the world, by which we underhand or conceiv^e in our minds that by the fole power and command of a liiprcme Being, whom we call God , the world it (elf, and all that belongs to it was at firfl: brought into being, fo that the things which are now (een were made, but not out of things which did appear; that which had no being by an Almighty power began to be. The manner in which this was done, was in its own nature invifible to human fight, other things being firfl brought into being before mankind exifled ; and iz is impofiiblc to have it now reprefcnted over again to us. But however, from what we do fee, or from fome other reafonings about our own exillence, or othcrwife, we do believe an invifible Maker and Governour of the world. Through faith "jL'e tinder ft and^ that the worlds were fra?ned by the wordofGody fo that things which are feen were not made of things which do ap- pear.

The next inflance of Faith, is a belief of God's having a regard to the adions of men, and their behaviour both towards him

and

6^ SERMON III.

and towards one another, according to the difference of which he has a different refped: towards them, and their intended worihip of him ; as in the cafe o^ Abel and Ca'in^ one of which, by reafon of this behef, offered a la- crifice more acceptable to God than the other. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excel- lent facr'tfice than Cain, by which he obtain- ed witnefs that he was righteous^ God tefti- fying of his giff^ •' ^f^d by it^ he being dead yet Jpeaketh^ i. e. his blood crying lor ven- geance or recompence for the lofs of life, to God, who had accepted his gifts, and declared him righteous, teaches us to believe, that not- withflanding he vvaS unjuftly flain , and his wicked brother furvived, yet God will make a difference between the innocent fufferer and the guilty murderer. His approbation or dil^ approbation ihall not be in vain, though we do notprelently fee the effects of them ; which dodrine the cafe oiAbel does as it were preach to all future generations.

The third inftance of Faith here given, is a belief of fome Reward to be received from the hand of God in another life, for our obedience to him in this, and our living according to his will, by what means foever it be raanifeffed unto us ; as in the cafe oiEfwchj who, though

he

SERMON III. 6^

he knew that righteous ^i^e/ was murdered by his wicked brother, notwithftacding God's te- flifying of his works that he approved them, yet was not tempted to think worle of Pro- vidence for all that, nor difcouraged from a religious obedience ; becauie he was fully per- fuaded, that however it might fucceed with him in this life, yet God would certainly take care of him, and make it up to him in the next. And according to this faith fo it happen- ed to him, in a molt remarkable manner, fuffi- cient to convince all that knew it, of the cer- tainty of that life' which he believed. By faith Enoch was tranjlated that he Jhould not fee death , and was not founds [ any more upon earth] becaufe God had tranf.ated him : for before his tranflation he had this teftimony^ that he pleafed God. And With refped: to the two foregoing inflances, though more particularly, as it iliould feem, to the latter of them, the Apoflle adds the oblervarion in the Text : But without faith it is impofjl- hie to ^leafe God. i. e, without believing thefirfl: principles of Religion, it is impoffibie that any man fliould be capable of receiv- ing fuch tefiimony from God, as either Enoch or Abel had done : For he that cometh to God, miift believe that he is, and that he is

F a re

66 SERMON III.

a rewarder oft hem that diligently fee k him^ i.e. He that makes any religious addrefTes to a fu- preme Deing,or propofes to have any intercourle with him, or thinks that he (lands in any re- lation to him, fo as to be capable of receiving any thing from him, muft necefTarily believe the exiflence of fuch a Being, and that he ihall be the better for making iuch application to him. But this he can have no great ground to hope for, unlefs he be perfuaded that this fupreme Being, or God, takes care of human affairs, and obferves human adions, and will, fome way or other, reward thofe that behave themfelveswell, either in this life or another; and if he plainly fee, that good men are not always rewarded in this life, he will from hence be induced to believe, that there is ano- ther life after this intended for them. And though he be not as yet perfectly acquainted with the manner how this fhall be, yet he can fafely trufl to that wifdom, and power, and goodneis, which he is perfuaded belongs to him, who is the Maker and Governour of all things.

That the belief of God's exiftence is necef^ farily fuppofcd in all thofe, who willingly, and ex animOy fliew any. fort of veneration or re- fpe(5t towards fuch a Being, is a thing fo felf-

evident.

SERMON III. 61

evident, that no man can ever lerioufly go a- bout to deny it. Even Epicurus himfelf, though he denied all Providence, yet was for- ced to own fome fort of Excellent and Happy Beings, whom he called Gods, that he might have fome pretence for complying with the outward exprefTions of veneration and wor- iliip, ufed among thofe with whom he My^d ; though he founded the decency or fitnefs of this veneration, ^ only upon the Excellency of the nature of Gods above men, and not upon any concern that they had, or could have, for mankind upon his principle.

But they who go no farther than this can- not, in any jufl: lenfe , be laid to come unto Godj they cannot, confidently with their hy- pothejis, either ask any thing of him, or ex- ped any thing from him, u hile they believe him not to be concerned for mankind. And therefore TuUy makes even Cotta the Acade- mic, (whofe province it was, not to own the fame certainty or alTurance in rhofe mat- ters, which the other i'eds of Philofophcrs did) yet plainly to condemn this hypothefis, as the

F ^ ruin

» Nee metuimuseos, quos intelligimusnec fibi fiogere u'- 1am moleftiam, riec alteri quaerere : Et pie fandeq; colimus naturam excellentem atque prasftantem,— /dy^ Velieius inbc half of the Epicurean worjhip, in TuUy De N. D. lib. i.ca^.zo.

6S SERMON III.

ruin of all Piety and Religion ; ^ " For why, fays he, '^ fliould the Gods be worlliipped by " men, if they are fo far from having any " care or concern for them, that they con- *^ tioue in a ftate of perfedt inadivity ? The ** excellence of their nature , is vainly pre- " tended as a reaibn, why a wife man fliould *' flievv them reverence ; for what excellence " can there be in that nature, which is entire- " ly taken up in the pleaiure of felf enjoy- " ment, and neither does, nor has done, nor " ever will do, any thing elfe ? What piety " can be due to that Being from whom yoa *' can receive nothing ? or how can any re- <' gard at all be due to that which has no me- " rit in it ? Piety ( or Religion ) is looked " upon as judice towards God; but what " right can there be whereon to found juftice, " if there be no manner of common tie or re-

" lation

b Quid ell: enim cur Deos ab hominibus colcndos dicas ? dun Dii non modo homines non cohnt, fed omnino nihil Gurent, nihil agant. At eft eorum eximia quaedam prxftanfq; R?.tura ; ut ea deheat ipfa per fe ad colendum cHcere fapi- entein. An quicquam exlmium poteft efTe in ea natura quae fua voluptate laetans* nihil nee adtura fit unquam, neq; agat, iTeq; egerit ? Qux porrb pietas ei debetur, a quo nihil ac- cef)eris ? Ant quid omnino, cujus nullum meritum fit, eide- beri poieft? Ert enim pietas juuitia adverfumDeos; cum qur- bus quid poteft nobis efie juris, ciim homini nulla cum Deo eommunltas ? De Nat. Deer. L i. cap. 41,

SERMON III. 69

^ larion between God and Man ?" *= And he farther argues, that Epkiirtts^ by removing from his notion of a Deity , all Favour and good-will to mankind, as things arifing from weaknefs and imperfedion, had plainly root- ed out the very foundation of Religion , by deftroying that, which is the pecuhar chara- d:er of the befl and mod excellent nature, viz,. Goodnefs and Beneficence. And he judges with good reafon, that Tofidomns was not miftaken in his opinion of Epicurus^ when he thought him to be at the bottom a Real Atheifl ; though in words he outward- ly owned the being of a God, to avoid the publick odium : for otherwife he could not think him {q weak, as really to beheve things fo abfur'd and inconfiflent of the Divine na- ture. And therefore he concludes after this manner, ^ If there could be any fuch God,

F 3 (as

^ Epicurus vero ex animis hominum extraxit radicitus re- ligionem, ciim Diis immortalibus & gratiam & opem fullulir. Cum enim optiraam & praeftantiffimara naturam Dei dicat effe, negat idem eflTein Deo gratiam, tollit id quoJ maximc proprium ell optimx praeilantiffimaeq; naturae. Quid enim me- lius; autquid prceftantius bonitate & beneficentia .'' ib.cap^-i,.

^ Si maxime talis eft Deus , ut nulU gratia, nulla homi- num caritate teneatur, valeat. Quid enira dicam, propitius fit? ElTe enim propitius poteft nemini: quoniam, ut dicitis, oranis in imbeciilate eft 6c gratia oc caritas. ;^. 44. in fine.

70 SERMON III.

(as Epicurus imagined) without kindnefs or good will towards men^ I would take my fi- lial farewell of him : For why Jhould I beg his grace or favour ? for he cannot be kind or gracious to any , Jince^ in the opinion of yott Epicureans, all kindnefs and good-will is founded in weaknefs, and want of felf- Jiifficiency.

This then ought to be look'd upon as a- greable to the common reafon of mankind , that a periiiafion or behef, not only of the Being of a God, but alio of his univerlal pro- vidence and concern for mankind ; and con- fequently an expedation , that he will fome way or ether reward men for their obedience to his will, is a necefTary foundation of Re- h'gion. This is the fumm of what is intend- ed in the w' ords of the Text, without faith it is impoffible to pleafe God ; for he that Cometh to God^ muft believe that he is^ and that he is a rewarder of them that diligent- ly feek him. And upon this Faich the Apo- Itle grounds all the worthy adions of thole excellent perfons, who lived in the fiifl ageS of the world ; and whofe virtues were fo emi- nent, as to be remember'd with honour to fu- ture generations.

But becaufe there are Ibme who think Re- ligion

SERMON III. 71

Jigion and Morality to be things fo diftindl in nature, that they may be feparated in fad; and therefore though they allow that no man can be a Religious man, without believing fome re- ligious principle (befidcs the meer not deny- ing the Exiftence of a God) yet as to all hu- man duties, arifing from them as men, where- in they think the (iimm of all morality con- fifts, they would perfuade us, that they may be well enough preferved and iecured without any fuch belief; and confequently that no Moral principle can oblige a man to the belief of a God and Providence. It may be matter of {peculation or curiofity, in which a think- ing man may employ himfelf if he pieafes ; as he may in the confideration of the morion or quiefcence of the earth, or fome fhano- mena in the heavenly bodies yet more remote from him. But as to the virtue or neceflity of believing any invifible principle, they pre- tend to fee none. I defign therefore in my difcourfes upon this fubjed:, to fet fome of the arguments for the Being of a God and Pro- vidence, ^c, in fuch a light as may not only iliew the truth and certainty of the thing, but our Natural obligation likewife to the belief of it, as we are Reafonable creatures : by which it will appear, that we cannot perform F 4 all

72 SERMON III.

ail thofe duties, which are incumbent on us as we are men, without refped: had to fome- thing above or beyond our own nature, and confequently that Atheifm and Infidehty are inconfiftent with any fure and lading moral principles, which can univerfally affed: man- kind. And the method I defmn to take fliall be this.

I. I fliall endeavour to lliew that, accord- ing to the general Sentiments of mankind, there cannot be any perfed: morahty expeded where there is no belief of the firft principles of Religion.

II. That therefore all Societies of men, that have ever fubfifted in any order in the world, have always profefs'd the belief of God's Ex- iftence, and at lead of forae kind of Provi- dence, and fome expedation of divine Re- wards and Punifliments.

III. That this belief or univerfal confent did not arife from any art, or contrivance, or compad of men, in order to keep one an^ other in awe ; but was really antecedent to it/ md built upon a more univerfal principle.

IV. This will lead me to confider upon what foundation this general belief or per- fuafion is built. {Of this fee Sermon VI.)

I. lihall

SERMON III. 73

I. I fhall endeavour to fliew, that accord- ing to the general fentiments of mankind, there cannot be any perfect morality exped:ed, where there is no belief of the firft principles of Religion. When Abimelech^ the king of Gerar^ expoftulated with Abraham for con- ceahng from him that Sarah was his wife, whereby he was in danger of being brought into a fnare, and doing what would by no means have been agreeable to the rules of hof- pitalicy, and asked him, ^ What faweji thou^ that thou hafl done this thing ? Abraham gives him this Reafon for it : Becaufe 1 thought Jurely, the fear of God is not in this place^ and they will flay me for my wife's fake. Be- ing newly come a flranger into the country, and not knowing what ienle of a Deity pre- vailed among them, he knew not what Ibrt of treatment he might expect. For he rea- foned with himfelf, that if there were no awe of Religion among them, there could be no llifficicnt rcftraint from doing any a6t of in- juftice or cruelty, where it would tend to a prefent gratification of rheir appetites, or paf- fions; unlels there werefomefuperior outward force to deter them from it, which he was

fenfible

^■1 II l« l»M !"■ ■■ ■■■■ ■ !■ ■■IWIil, [■■■■■» ■■■■■■> 11 I !■

« G;n. zo. lo, ii.

74 SERMON III

fenfible he wanted. And in this way of rea- fbning Abraham was by no means fingular. Even Abimekch himfelf feems to have been latisfied with the conclufion, if the premises had been true as Abraham fulpedted. For indeed the gencrahty of mankind have ever realbned after the lame manner in this cafe. And therefore TuUy when he argues, that thofe who deny the Providence of God and his concern for mankind, do neceffarily de- ftroy all the grounds of Religion, adds alfb, ,^that if the fenfe of Tiety and Religion be taken away^ the greateft dtfiurbance andcon^ fiijion in human life 'would necejfarily fol- low. And though he is feidom given to be very pofitive, yet he plainly intimates his o- pinion, ° that if Tiety towards God was re- moved^ there would be an end of all Fidelity^ and of the bonds of all human- fbciety, and even of Juftice itfelf the fumm of all vir- tues. And in this he fpeaks his own fenfe of the matter, and not merely that o any par- ticular fed of Phiiofophers. And according-

ly

i — -Quibus fublatis, perturbaiio vitse fequitur & magna confufio.

g — Atque hand fcio, an pietate adveifus Deos fublata,

fides etiam & focietas humani generis, & una excellentillima

Tirtus jullitia tollatur.

Lib. I. de N, Dear, in proosmio. ^

SERMON III. 75

ly in fad: it has always been found, that in thofe places where there has been little fenfc of God and Religion, or where the notions of Religion have been greatly debafed and corrupted, fo as to have little ef^edl upon the minds of men in their moral condudf, there the manners of men have been always mofl: brurifli and inhuman. And on the contrary, where men have had the jufteft and mofl live- ly lenfe of a Deity and a Providence, there all moral virtues between man and man have flouriflied, the mofl worthy and generous actions have been performed, and the manners of men been ever mod human and civilized. I own indeed, that men's notions of Religion it felf may be fo much depraved and perverted, by the craft of fome, and the weaknefs of others, as to become the occafion of much mifchief And Superftition may fb far pre- vail over fome, as even to overwhelm the common principles of Morality in divers in- flances. And on the other hand there may poffibly be found, now and then, a particular man of fo fingularly good a natural dilpofi- ticn, as to behave himfelf with decency in all the common offices of human life, with- out any previous refleding upon the obliga- tions of Religion, and whofe pradlice is there- fore

16 SERMON III.

fore better than his principles. But now, as it would, in the firfl cafe, be very unreafonable to charge thofe evils upon Religion, which are occafioned purely by the corruption of it, and which if it were truly and fuicercly prad:iied, it would intirely prevent: So in the fecond cafe, to form a general Argu- ment o^ the ufclefTnefs or uncertainty of Re- ligious Principles, from fome Ungle inftances, which happen but very rarely, would be e- qually abfurd and unreafonable. For what if a man now and then be found better than his principles ? Is this any commendation of thofe principles, which, ifpurfued, would make him much worfe than nature has made him ? We are not to feek for truth in the uncertain and variable practices of men, but in plain and neceflary deductions from the nature of things, and fuch as the generality of men ufing their realbn, when they are under no prejudice, will naturally make. And in hke manner, we can by no means conclude, that the prin- ciples of Atheifm are either capable of pro- ducing , or even confident with , a perfecSt Morality, only becaufe it may happen, that a man, who by chance embraces them, may poffibly be fober and temperate, and may ex- ercife the outward adts of juftice or benefi-

ceilce,

SERMON III. 77

cencc, gratitude or friendfliip in fome parti- cular inftances.

The queflion then is not, Whether a par- ticular thoughtful man may not fee the natu- ral ficncls and propriety of a great ma- ny moral adions, and accordingly pradtile them, abftradedly from all other confidera- tions, and without reflecting upon any future confequences , as the reward or puniihmenc of them; nor Whether fome men may nor hold inconfiftent principles, which, if duly attended to, in their confequences would ria- turally deftroy one another : But the queflion is. Whether, if the minds of men were not generally influenced by the apprehenfion of fomething diftind: from this principle of meer fitncls and congruity of adions xo the nature of things ; that is, of fome Being upon whom the exiltence of things themfelves, and con- fequently their natures and the congruity of one to another, depends, not by chance but wife dcfign, it could ever be pofTible for the generality of mankind to have any iuch firm notions of moral good and evil, as to keep awake what we call natural Confcience in them, and fill them with hopes or fears ac- cording to the tenor of their adions. My meaning is, that, without the belief of a Su- preme

78 SERMON III.

preme Intelligent Being, upon whom the na- ture of things depends, and who has a power of exacting from all free Agents a conformity of their adtions to that law of nature which he has eftablifh'd, and who will fbm,e way or other take cognizance of them; fuch a law, foppofed to arife merely from the fitnefs of things, would have but very little influence: it would be as ineffedual to the greateft part of mankind , as a human law without any Sandtion annexed, or the apprehenfionof any Magiftrate to put it in execution. It is poflible that Ibme men may have that benevolence to fociety, and that generous Icufe of publick good, as to be a law unto themfelves, and of their own accord may do what the bed human law would direcSt them to. But what is this to the bulk of mankind ? And even this can- not be expeded where the notions of a Deity are excluded. We are to take human nature as it generally is, and to confider what fort of belief or perliia^on has the greateft and moft univerfal influence over it. And if we do this, wefhall find, that Infidelit)^ in rhefirft principles of Religion is utterly inconfiftent with a perfed Morality, and that upon thefe two accounts.

I. Becaufe

SERMON III. 7^

I. Bccaufe, if there be no belief of a God and a Providence, nor any expedation of fu- ture rewards and punifliments from any invf- fible Being, there cannot, in the common fenfe of mankind, be any liifficient bond of morality between man and man.

X. Becaufe if there be really a God that has any concern with us, or for us, a com- plcat morahty mufl neccfTarily have refped: to him, as well as to our intercourle with one another.

I. Becaufe if there be no belief of a God and a Providence, nor any expedation of Hi- ture rewards and punilhments from any invi- fible Being, there cannot, in the common fenfe of mankind , be any luilicient bond of morality between man and man.

If indeed the adions of men weredireded only by fenfe or inftind, as the adions of brutes are, and had no dependence upon any invifible principle in the mind, morality would then be nothing elfe but living according to that natural inftind, nor would any kind of faith or belief be neceflary to fuch adions. But this is not the morality of men endued with underflanding and freedom of will ; nor is it what gives them fuch a confcicnce of theic own adigns, as to raife any fatisfidioa

or

8o SERMON III.

or dilpleafiire with themfelves for what they have done, afrer the ad:ions are over. For that is a thing of a much higher nature , which requires reafon , and refledion , and fome apphcation of mind, both to things paft and future, as well as prefent ; and conlequcnt- ly muft fuppofe a belief of fomething invifi- ble, upon which we are moved to adion in a human or reafbnable way, and a compa- ring of our actions, with fome antecedent rule or law, for the tranlgrefTion of which we in- wardly judge our felves accountable to fome fuperior Being, who is fome way or other as confcious of what we do, as v/e our felves are. And to this purpofe let it be obferved ;

I. That all human actions, which are not merely animal, depend upon a belief or per- fuafion or fomething future or invifible, which gives the firfl motion to them : that is, men never defignedly undertake any thing confide- table, but they exped: either to acquire fome- thing good and ufeful from it, or to avoid fome- thing evil which would othervvife enfue. Thus men plant and fow upon a behef of future fruit ; they work, and trade to remote coun- tries which they have never feen, not only upon a belief, that there are are fuch countries, but alfo that they fhali receive fome advan- tage

SERMON III. 8i

rage by their pains and hazard : All which things are future , and none of them capable of a ftricSt demonftration. And though this confidcration may feem not to have any great relation to the belief of a Providence; yet, if we take the matter right , w^e cannot but obferve, that even thefe probabilities of the future conicquences of human adiions, by which men are excited to perform this or that, have more or lefs weight with chem, as men are more or lels periiiaded of an over- ruling power that keeps the world in a con- ftanc order. For the more Chance rules, the lefs can any profpecSt of the future be de- pended on ; and the more uncertain the pro- fpedt, the lefs is the inducement to adt up- on It. But ;

X. Moral adiions do depend flill more upon the acknowledgment of principles, remoie from fcnfe, and fuperior to chance: and our obligation in conlcience to tlfe (teady perfor- mance of fuch actions, mufl: be founded upoa the belief of an intelligent Legiflaror, who is alfo an infpedtor of our behaviour. For lee virtue be defined after what manner youpleafe, let it be the love of order ^ Harmony or Pro- portion of mind ; let it be a Living agreably to the perfcdion of nature, or ading for the

G good

82 SERMON III

good of the whole Human fpecies, of which we are but a part : Call it by what fine names foever, (which perhaps are lefs intelligible thaa the thing it lelf without fuch defining ) yet flill the quedion returns, who conltituced this order of things ? who firft made this harmony or proportion ? or who is the author of this nature ? ^ For he muft be the ultimate Legi- flator ; and this Law of nature, this rule of morality, muft be his Will, though not arbi- trary and mutable, but direded by his fupieme reafbn ; whether it be made known to us by the obfervation of that natural order of things which he has eftabliilied, and from whence, by reafoning, we gather the fitnefs and decen- cy of every moral adion ; or whether it be dilcovered to us by any more immediate di- recScion or revelation from himfelf And if there be not an opinion or perfuafion , that this Supreme Being is a witnels of human life,

and

S Hanc igitur video fapientiffimorum fuilTe fententiam, legem neq; horainum ingeniis excogitatam, neq; fcitum al'/- quod effe populorum , fed aeternum quiddain quod univer- furn mundum regcret, imperandi prohibendiq; fapientia. Ita principem legem il'.am & ultimam, mentem efle dicebant omnia ratione aut cogentis aut vetantis Dei. Cic. de legib. lib. z. And again,

l.ex vera atq; princeps apta ad jubendum &: ad vetanduir, latio eft ledia fummi Jovis. ib.

SERMON III. 83

and confcious of what we do , even in our mod lecret receffes, it is hard to conceivTi how our own confciences lliould be af?ed:ed with fhame and regret , though men applaud us, when we do ill ; or with pleaiure and latisfa- (flion , though we incur the cenfure of a mi- ftaken world, when we do well, Thefe effedts of confcience, iiippofc in us a belief of the in- timate and Cendant prefence of one, whofe favour or difpleafure is more to be regarded than any outward confidcrarion whatever. FroLn whence it will follow, that whatever o- pinion lets men loofe from the redraint of their own confcienceS) will make their judice^ fidelity, gratitude, and all other moral virtues, refpe(5ting their fellow creatures, very precari- ous; and therefore an avowed infidelity in the fird principles of Religion, mud needs be very dedrudive of that morahty, which re- gards our intercourle with one another.

An Author not fufpecSted of partiality in the cafe, has freely owned this truth , when he tells us, that ^ " where the Theidical be- " lief is entire and perfedt, there mud be a «' deddy opinion of the fuperintendency of a ^' Supreme Being, a witncfs and fpedrator of

G X " human

*> Enquiry co'aerninj Virtue, pa^ 5

84 SERMON III.

*' human life, and confcious of all that is felt '' or ailed in the univerfe ; fo that in the per- " fed:eft recefs, or deepefl: lohtude, there ^' muft be one ftill prefum'd remaining with '' us whofe prclcnce fingly muft be of more " moment than that of the moft auguft affem- " bly on earth. In fuch a prelence as this, " 'tis impofhble, but as the lliame of guilty " actions mud be the greateft of any, fbmuft " the honour be of well doing, even un- " dertheunjuftcenfureof a world. And in this « cafe, 'tis very apparent how far conducing " a perfedt Theifm mufl: be to virtue, and how '' great deficiency there is in Atheifm."

And that this is agreable to the natural and common fentiments of mankind, is plain from hence , that in all ages and nations of the v/orld, an Oath, or appeal to the Deity has been look'dupon as the ftrongeft lecurity, both of veracity in afferting, and fidelity in promi- fmg, that one man could freely give another. Now this cuftom of demanding or offering an oath could never have obtain'd, without an antecedent opinion deeply rooted in the minds of men, That the belief of a Deity, and the fenfe of his being a witnefs and Judge of our aftions, was one of the ilrongeft engage- ments to adt juftiy and honeftly by one ano- ther.

SERMON III. 85

ther. Nay, farther, The very abule of this principle by wicked men, and the making hy- pocritical pretences to Rehgion, or offering an oath for confirmation, in order to deceive others the more fecurely, is an evident proof of mens natural opinion , that the flrnngeft obligation to human virtue, or moral hone- fty, is founded in a fmccre belief of the firft principles of Religion. And that this opinion is not adventitious or contrived by cunning men, and fo inftilled into others, to keep them in awe ; I fhall have a proper occafion to ob- ferve more at large hereafter.

*Tis a fatal thing, both to Religion and Morality, to diftinguiHi Co far between them as to imagine, that either of them can be pcrfcdt without the other. For as we have all the reafon in the world to fufpedl the fm- ceriry of that man's profcffions of Religion , who is willingly deficient in moral honefty ; fo he that openly declares himfelf to be under no reflraint of confciencc from the belief of any invifible principle, muft excufe us, if we doubt whether his integrity may in all cafes be fafe- ly depended on. He that believes the prin- ciples of Religion , has all the other engage- ments to virtue that an Infidel can pretend to, and alfo that which is looked upon as ^nore

G 3 binding

8^ SERMON III.

binding than all the reft over and above : and what reafon then can I have to be fecure of his virtue or morality, who owns himlclf to be under fewer obligations to pradife it thaa other men ? Upon thefe conflderations there- fore , if Morality were limited to our behavi- our towards men only , even that could not be Efficiently fecured upon the principles of Atheifm. But thofe principles will be farther deficient likewife upon another account ; and that is,

z. Becaufe if there really be a God that has an-y concern with us, or for u*^, a compleat morality muft necefTarily have refped: to him, as well as to our intercourfe with one another. This is what cannot reafonably be denied, un- lefs there iliould be any who think, becaufe God is a Spirit, and invifible, that therefore men , who are clothed with body , have no means of fliewing him any houonr or reve- rence, or of adling or doing any thing that can have relation to fuch a fuper- eminent Be- ing. But if there be any fuch perfons, they have a very mean opinion of a human mind, and a very odd notion of the morality of hu- man adionSj which depends upon the inter- nal difpofitions of the mind, of which outward adions are only an external fign, and that noc

SERMON III. 87

always certain or infallible. Bur if we are ca- pable of knowing or believing any thing of God, as a fupreme mind governing the world, we are alfo capable of inwardly owning this, and confequently of giving him an inward ado- ration and worlhip in our own minds. We may exercife affections of Faith, or truft, and af- fiance in him ; of Love , and reverence, and obedience towards him. Thefe are natural in- ward ad:s of Piety and Religion, due to an infinitely powerful, wife and beneficent Be- ing, who has given us underflanding, and will, and powers of adding: in which communica- ble Attributes, an human mind is related to the divine Being. If therefore, morality can- not be compleat and perfed:, without a<3:ing fuitably and becomingly, to every relation ia which we fland to any Beings, and efpecially rational Beings, that are known to us; the very chief part of it mud be in proper ad:s of Piety and Religion to the firfl Being, from whom we derive our reafbn it feif. Upon this account Tls^Z/y, in ftating the law of nature , which is the rule of moral adions, and from whence all other laws ought to be deduced, ' juftly lays

G 4 the

• Ei\ igitur, quoniam nihil eft ratione melius, eaq; & in ho- mine & in Deo, prima homini cum Deo rationis focictas, c^c. I>£le^.l.i. Jam

88 SERMON III.

the foundation of ir, in that original relation or fociety which is between God and man.

^ And he makes the acknowledgment of a God, and a Providence over human affairs, and the different regards which that providence has to the good or evil ad:ions of men, to be the firft principles, which every member of fociety ought to be fully perfuaded of; as may be feen at large, in his books /^e Legibtis.

And in this he agrees not only with TlatOy and with other wife men that had gone before him, in writing upon thisfubjed:, but with the common fentiments of mankind, expreffed in the general practice of all civilized nations. I need not be particular in infilling upon this, which may in fome meafure appear from what has already been fuggefted, in this difcourfe ;

and

Jam verb virtus eadem in nomine ac Deo eft, neq; ullo a- lio ingenio praeterea. Eft autem virtus nihil aliud quam in fe perfedi & ad fumraum perduda natura. Eft igitur homi- ni cum Deo fimilitudo. Quod ciim ita fit, quas tandem po- teft efle propior certiorve cognatio ? ibid.

k Sit igitur hoc jam a principio perfuafum civibus domi- nos efle omnium rerum ac moderatores Deos, eaq; quae ge- rantur eorum geri judicio ac nuraine, eofdemq; optime de genere hominum mer-jri, &qualis quifq; fit, quid agat, quid in fe admiitat, qua mente, qua pietate religiones colat, in- tueri, piorumq; & impiorum habere rationem : his enim rebus imbutse mentes, baud fane abhorrebunt ab utili, & a vera fententia. Be Legg. lib. 2.

SERMON III. 89

and which will farther appear, from the con- sideration of what I ihall offer under the next head ; wherein I am to Ihew,

II. That all Societies of men, that have ever fubfifted in any tolerable order in the world, have profefTed the belief of God's ex- iflcnce, and at lead of fbme kind of Provi- dence, and an expecStation of divine rewards and punilhments.

Of which I defign to fpeak, with God's al^ finance, the next opportunity.

SERMON

SERMON IV.

Preached ^pril the 4''' 17 17.

^•««««'«t«**«««««!K««»!««*««!8!««S!'K !«»!«!«!«

Heb. xi. (5.

But without Faith it isimpojjlhle to pie a fe God • for he that cometh to God mufl believe that he is^ and that he is a Re warder of them that ddigently feek him.

H E iumm of what is primarily in^ tended in thefe words, as I ob- ferved in my lad Difcourfe, is this. That a perluafion, or belief, not pnly of the Being of a God, but alfo of his

vmi-

52 SERMON IV.

nniverfal Providence and Concern for mankind, and confequently, an expeilation that he will Ibme way or other reward men for their obe- dience to his Will, is a neceffary foundation of Religion. And upon this faith, or belief, the Apoftle grounds all the great and worthy anions of thofe excellent perfons mentioned in this Chapter, who lived in the firft ages of the world, divers of them before any general written Revelation of the will of God toman- kind, vvhcle piety and virtue were remem- bred with honour to future generations, and thought fit to be recorded, as examples to o- thers, in thofe writings which God defigned as a lading inftrudtion to all thofe unto whom he vouchfafed to reveal his will in that man- ner. Now though it will hardly be denied, that thefe firfl; principles of Religion are ab- Iblutely neceffary to all voluntary ads of re- h'gious Worfhip, llridly fo called ; that is, to invocation and adoration of the Deity, and to ail hope and expedtation of any benefit from fuchWoriliipof him; yet, becaufe there are Ibme who think, or pretend at leaft, thar Religion and Morality are things fo difliind in themfelves, that they may be feparated from each other in pradice, and that humane vir- tue may fubfift apart and entire without piety

towards

SERMON IV. 93

toward*? God , therefore in ipeaking to this fubjed:, 1 propofed to iliew, that we cannot perform all thole duties which are incumbent on u?, as we are men, without relped: had to fomething above or beyond our own nature ; that is, fome fuperior Being. cllabHihing fuch an order and connediion of things , from whence the Law of nature, which obliges man- kind to fuch and fuch adtions, does refult : and confequently that Atheifln, or Infidelity of the firfl: principles of Religion, is inconfift- ent with any fure and lading moral principles, that can univerfally afRd: or oblige mankind. And in order to this I defigncd to purfue this method.

I. To ihew, that according to the general fentiments of mankind, there cannot be any perfed: Morality expcd:ed, where there is no belief of the firfl: principles of Religion.

II. That therefore all focieties of men, that have ever rubfifted in the world, in any tolerable order, have always profef^^d the be- lief of God's Exiftence, and ar leaft of fome kind of Providence, and an expecftation of di- vine Rewards and PuniJliments.

III. That this belief, or univerlal conicnr, did not arife from any Art, or contrivance, or

compact;

5>4 SERMON IV.

compadt of men, in order to keep one anothef in awe, but was really antecedent to it, and built upon a more univerlal principle.

The firfl; of thefe I have already fpoken to, and Ihewn the general lenfe of mankind about it, in my laft Difcourfe ; which will farther appear by confidering what I am now to Ipeak to, viz.

II. That all focieties of men, which have ever fubfiiled in the world, in any tolerable order, have always profefs'd a belief of God's Exiftence, and at leail of fome kind of Pro- vidence, and an expectation of divine Rewards and Punilhments.

I exprefs this matter in thefe general terms at prefent, becaufe I would avoid any needlefs cavils, that might be raifed againft fome parts of that evidence which I iliall bring for the proof of it, if I were to exprels it in terms implying an abfolute and particular Provi- dence, or fuch perfect Rewards and Puniili- ments in another life as is generally under- ftood among Chriftians. For it is fufficient to my prefent purpofe, to fliew a general agree- ment of mankind, in the belief of that which is the foundation of Religion ; though both their notions, as to the nature of God and

the

SERMON IV. 95

the extent of his Providence, and their pra- d:ices as to religious Worlhip, and their opi- nions about a future State were exceeding dif- ferent, and when compared, even inconfiflenC with one another. And I mention Societies of men fubfifting in fome tolerable order, be- caufe it cannot be denied, that there have, ia divers ages and divers countries, been particu- lar men that have profefs'd their disbelief of God's Exiftence, others that have been doubt- ful about it, befides thole that have been fiif^ ped:cd ; though they have never been fo many as to form any regular fociety, nor had they any common principles , upon which they could well unite into fociety. This being premifed, I fhall now proceed to llievv.

The univerfality of this perfuafion, or be- lief of the Being of God andfbme fort of Fu- ture ftate. And I join thefe two together, not that we are to look for the fame explicit acknowledgment of the latter as of the former every where, there being not the fame occa- fion always to make it appear in the outward practice of Religion, or the open profejffion of it, and it requires fome what a longer de- dudtion of realoning to prove it ; but becaule the two have a near affinity to one another, and may, 1 hope, be both proved to have an

original

96 SERMON IV.

original foundation in nature, and to be parts of the natural Creed of mankind. Now to lliew this univerfaiity, I ihall

I. Produce the tefliraony of fbme authors of the beft credit ; and then,

i. Shew how agreeable this is to what we find to have been pradifed in all coniidcrable nations of which we have any hiftory.

I. Produce the tcftimony of fbme authors of the beft credit, and fuch who have not raihly and by chance, but upon the moft mature confideration, aflerted it. And I iliall begin with TttUy ; becaufe he, having written feveral Treatiles upon the lubjed:, had occa- fion to enquire very carefully into the matter. And we find by his Books, that he had very diligently examined all the opinio ns, that were of any note, of thofe that went before him, both as to the nature of God, aad the nature of the human Soul, And though he is not ulually very pofitive in delivering his own o- pinion (as profelling himfelf of the AcademtJ Sed;) yet in the points now before us, he has done it very clearly. As to the common conient of mankind, he has alTerted it in many places ; both where he Ipeaks his own fenfe in

bis

SERMON IV. ^ St

his own perfbn, and where he introduces dif- ferent SecSts of Philofophers Ipeaking their fenfe: So that we may conclude it to have been a point generally allowed in all former times down to his own age. Where he fpeaks in his own perfon, he tells us, ' That of fi many kinds of animals as there are in the world, there is none except man that has any knowledge of God; but of mankind there is no nation, either fo barbarous or favage^ but that they know they ought to have fome God, though they know not what kind of God is moft proper to be owned. Again, ^ This is look'd tipon, fays he, as a very jirong argument for our belief of the Exiftence of Gods, that there is no nation fo wild, no man of fo Jtrange a make,, as not to have his mind tin^ured with fome belief of the Gods. Many

H have

» Itaque ex tot generibus nullum eft animal praeter ho- tninem quod habeat notiviam aliquam Dei : de iplifque ho- minibus nulla gens eft, neque tam iramanfueta, neque tarn fera, quae non, etiamft ignoret qualem habere Deum deceat, tamen habendum fciat. Tie Leg. I. i. i8.

t* Ut porro firmiffimum hoc aff'erri videtur cur Deos efle credamus, quod nulla gens tam fera, nemo omnium tam lit immanis, cujus mentem non imbuerit Deorum opinio; multi de Diis prava fentiunt : id enim vitiofo more eifici folet : Omnes tamen efle vim & naturam Divinam arbitran- tur. Tufc. Bifp. I, I. cap. i^,'

58 SERMON IV.

have perverfe and odd opinions of them^ for this is wont to happen from vitious cufiont^ but yet all do think that there is fome 'Divine ^ower and Nature. And it is to be ob- ferved, that he is in that difcourfe treating of the future Exiftencc of the foul of man, which he puts Hkevvife upon the fame foot of gene- ral Belief, and therefore calls natural. "" I can, (ays he, bring very good authorities for this opinion (of a future State) and fuchas ought in all cafes y and are generally wont to weigh very much: and the fir ji is, the fen fe of all Antiquity ; which, the nearer it was to the beginning of things and to the firfl Divine Offspring, might probably have the better means of feeing what was true. One thing then which was perfectly inbred in thefe an- cient people, was, that there was fome fen fe after death, and that man was not utterly extinguijhed by departing out of this life.

And

c Audoribus quidem ad iftam fententiam (quam vis ob- tineri) uti optimis poiTumus: quod in omnibus caufis & de- bet & folet valere plurimum : & primum quidem omni antiquitate : quce, quo propiiis aberat ab ortu & divina pro- genie hoc melius ea fortafle quae erant vera cernebat : itaque unum iilud erat infitum prifcis illis , quos cafcos appellat Ennius, effe in raorte fenlura, neque exceflu vitae fic deleri hominem ut funditus iateriret, vc. Tttfc difp. /. i. c. li.

SERMON IV. ^^

And again, in the fame Book, he tells us, ^ As we do by nature believe there are Godsy but by Re a fin know what kind of beings they ate ; fi we are ferfuaded^ that fiuls continue after death, from the general confent of all nations: but what J> lace they abide in, and what their nature is, we mujt learn from Reafon.

I am not yet (Iridtly confidering what was Tully's own Opinion, either of the Nature of the Soul or the Being of God ; but from what I have cited out of him, I think it evidently appears, that he was fully perlliaded, that both the Being of God and a future State were ge- nerally believed in the moft antient times and among all Ibrts of people.

In his Books i)e Naturd ^eorum^ the fame thing is alTerted by the feveral Seds of Philofophers, in whole name he {peaks. Under the perfon of Balbm the Stoic^ it is made ^ ftrong argument for the certainty of a Divine Being, ^ Becaufe if men had not a clear and H 2 evi^

^ Sed ut Deos efTenatuia opinamur, qualefque fintratiunc cognofcimus; fie permanere animos arbitramur confenfu nationum omniam : qua in fcde maneant qualefque fint, ra- tione difcendiim eft. %b. cap. i6.

^ Quod nifi cognitum comprehenfumque animis ha-

beremus, non tarn ftabilis opinio permaneret, nee confirma-

f.9Vit

loo SERMON IV.

evident perception of the truth of it in their Minds, the belief of it would not have con- tinued fb conflant, nor have been confirmed by length of time, and gained fitch ground throughout all ages and generations of men. And he again concludes, ^ That this is the conftant opinion of all men in all nations : for the fenfe of God's Exijience, is as it were innate or ingraven upon the minds of all men.

As for the Epicureans, it is plain, it would have been moft confiftent with their loypothe- fis of no Providence or future (late, if they could alfo have had any colour for entirely denying the being of any God ; and yet it feems they were fenfible, that the belief of it was fo univerfal, that they would not offer to contradict it, but roundly fall in with it, and s magnify Epicurus for being the firft that

from

retur diuturnitate temporis, nee una cum feculis aetatibufque hominum inveteiare potuiifet. De Nat. Dear. I. II. 7.

f Itaque inter omnes omnium gentium fententia conflat. Omnibus enim innatum eft & in animo quafiinfculptum,enc Deos. il.

g Ea qui confideret, q'uiim inconfulte ac temere dicantur Venerari Epicurum, & in eorum ipforum nuraero de quibus haec qu3eftio eft habere debeat ; folus enim vidit primum effe Deos quod in omnium animis eorum notionem impreflifTet ipfa natura: qux eft enim gens, aut quod genus hominum,

quod

SERMON IV. loi

from thence took the hint to make a natural impre/Iion or idea the foundation of it : for fo Tully^ under the perfon oiVelleius^ reprelents their opinion ; For what nation is there, or what race of men that have not, without any teaching, fome anticipation of Gods in their mind ? which Epicurus calls 'Sr^oXyiipig^ that is, an antecedent information of the thing in the mind, without which nothing can be under floods or enquired, or difcourfed upon,"'" For fince this opinion is not founded upon any inftitution, or cuftom, or law, and yet every fingle man firmly agrees in it, it muji necef- farily be underjiood, that there are Qods^ becaufe we have an implanted, or rather in- nate knowledge of them : Now what the na- ture of all men agrees in muJi be true, there- we fnuji own, that there are Gods. This is his way of arguing.

H 3 Now

qudd non habeat fine dodtrina anticipationem quondam Deo- rym ? Quam appellat -sr^Uv^^iv Epicure, id eft, anteceptanj animo rei quandam informationem, line qua nee intelligi

quicquam, nee quaeri, nee difputari poffit. — Cum enim

non inftituto aliquo, aut more, aut lege fit opinio conftituta, maneatque ad unum omnium firma confenlio ; intelligi ne- cefte eft eft"e Deos, quoniam infitas eorum vel potiiis innatas cognitiones habemus. De quo autem omnium natura con- fentlt id verum elTe necefle eft. EiTe igitur Deos confiten- dura eft. De N, D. lib, i.

J02 SERMON IV.

Now what does Cotta the Academic^ who was to fay the moft he could againft every man*s opinion, reply to all this ? Why truly, as much as the calb will bear, and as much, in effed:, as has been faid upon the fubjecSt ever fmce. For firfl-, he allows the Being of God, but is not fatisfied with the Epicurean manner of proving it ; then he thinks the ar- gument itfelf of univerfality, in the manner that Velleim propofed ir, is not true. For he fuppofes, ^ that there may be divers natrons (but he offers to name none of them) fo very brtittjJo and void of all humanity^ as not td have any notion or fufpicion of the Being of a God. Then he mentions particular perion?, as exceptions to this general opinion, fuch as 'DiagoraSj commonly called the Atheift^ and Theodorus, and the famous Sophift Trotago- ras^ who was baniihed out of the territories of Athens and had his books burnt, for wri- ting in the beginning of one of them, That he was not able to fay, whether there were any Gods or no. And from this ufage he lup- poles, ' that others of the fame fentiments

might

^ Equidem arbitror multas effe genres, fie immanitate

efFeratas, ot apud eas nulla fufpicio Deorum fit.

» Ex quo equidfni exiftimo tardiores ad hanc fententiam profitendam multos effe facflos, quippe cum posnam ne dubi- tatio quidem efFugere potuifiet.

SERMON IV. 103

might be made more Jhy of declaring their opinions openly^ /luce they faw that only the doubting of it could not efcape Mnptinijhed. And farther he imagines, that all facrilegious, impious and perjur'd perfons do really not be- lieve any God at all.

This is the fumm of what he alledges a- gainft the univerfality of the belief of God's Exiftence : and though it may have fome force in it againft the notion of the Epicureans^ who laid the whole proof, for the Being of God upon that natural anticipation or innate idea of him, which they fuppofed every fingle man had, and not upon any confiderarion of the vifible efFed:s of Providence, or any ori- ginal tradition from the firft parents of man- kind ; yet as to what concerns the common notion of univerfal confent, as it was main- tained by others, it is no arguirjent againft it. For what if now and then a man, af?ed:ing fmgularity and defpifing all common opioions, ihall argue againft the Exiftence of God ? Or, what if fome clannsof monftroufly brutifh peo- ple, that are funk below the teft of the hu- man fpecies, and have very little, befides an human lliape, even in other refpedls, which can evidence their having common human Reafon, fliould not difcover any fign bf Re-

H 4 ^'S^on

104 SERMON IV.

ligion among them ? Is this a fufficient ex- ception to the generahty of mankind ufing their reafon ahke in other matters ? Do we not allow, that mankind generally take themfelves to be creatures naturally made for fociety, though there be fome that avoid all human converfation in faft, or fome that out of an itch of maintaining fomething contrary to the reft of the world, will needs affirm, that the natural ftace of man is a ftate of war ? And therefore Cotta, as much an Academic as he pretended to be, does in efFcd: give up this point, and tells us, ^ That as far as the o- ther feBs of Thtlofophers agreed in it, he would not meddle with the argument , Jince al- 7noft every one, and himfelf in jparticular^ owned the Being of Gods,

I have been the more particular in taking notice of the accounts which we have in the writings of Tttlly as to this matter, for a rea- Ion which I fliall have occafion to mention by and by. And I iliall therefore be more brief as to the reft who lived before him, who all Jpeak of thcfe opinions, as wiiat had gene- rally

^ Qiice communia funt vobis cuin ca^tciis philofophis non sKtingam,* ut hoc ipfum : placer cnim ojnnibus feiCj mihique.

•jinri-nis, Decs f iic.

SERMON IV. 105

rally prevailed before their o\vn age, time out of mind. And (bme give their reafons, how- it came to be fo, which they would never have done, if they had not verily thought the thing true in fadt. ^-Tlato, for inftance, makes the general confent of all men, Greeks and Barbarians, in the belief of a God, one argument for the certainty of the thing. And both for this, and for the Soul's Immortahty and Future Rewards andPuniihmenrs, which are things he often treats of, he frequently hints at the general opinion of former ages. And that Socrates, his great mafter, did ufe to argue from the fame topic, appears not only from Tlato's dodtrine, which was principally derived from him, but alio from that difcourfe which Xenophon tells us, he himfelf heard from Socrates's his own mouth, in a conver- fation with one Ariftodemus, a pretender to Infidelity at that time ; in which, among o- ther excellent arguments for a God and a Pro- vidence taking particular care of mankind, he has this remarkable paffage, ^ T^o you think,

fays

' De legg. I. 10. p. 886.

trtvii IV xj KXicuq srotHv, (i jtti; SuuXTo) iicruv ■ «.^ etvS-^iWTrys £|ct- ar«T<«jnf»y? toi sr«eiT«6 jc^oioy b^tTr^v ait uA^k^tu ; a'p^ '°^^-'> •"■'

\

lo^ SERMON IV.

fays he, the Gods would have made this op't- moH, That they are able to reward and pM- ftijhy fo ftatural to mankind^ if they were not able to it ? Or that all men could have been deceived for all agesy and never yet have perceived it ? ©^ you not obferve, that the moft ancient cities and nations among mankind have ever been moft religious^ and the moft prudent ages ftoewn the great eft re- gard to. the Gods ? AriftotlC'i who is by fome thought not to have been over- favour- able to Religion, tells us, " That all men have an opinion of the Gods^ and all men ajjign the higheft place to the T)ivine Nature, both Barbarians and Greeks^ whoever believe the Being of Gods, And the author of the book 'De Mundo, (who is by fome thought not to be Ariftotle, yet certainly an author of great antiquity, even of the age of Ariftotle himfclf, if his dedicating his Book to A- lexander can be any Proof of itj) affirms.

That

Tat zroXvyj^vmncttd «J trt>(pura,ru. T <x.t6^6)7rUm, ■sroXdi fC cStij Xenop. (x,Tiro(M. lib. I. ca^. 4.

T UyttlTCCTOI TO) ©«i5t» TOTTOV UTToS'lOOXTl t^ QeCff^d'Ot fC e^^.'/JVESj

'ie-ciirto fivcn vof^i^STt ©£»5. De Ccdo. I. I. cap. 3.

SERMON IV. 107

That ° there is a very antient way of reafon- mg, or difiourfe, and fuch as all men receive from their forefathers^ That all things are from God, and confift or are confiituted by God, and that no nature is of itfelf fiifjicient if defiitute of bis ^refervation. It would be endlcfs, and is by no means neceffary, to produce all the tcftiraonies that might be had to this purpofe out of Greek and Latin wri- ters, who all follow one another, efpeciaily thofe that lived in the rimes after thofe which I have already mentioned. I (hall only mention that remarkable one oi MaximusTyrius ^ in his difcourfe of. What the nature of God is ac- cording to Plato. About the nature of God, he tells us, men were infinitely divided, and every man fpeaks according to his own ap- prehenfions, p But, fays he, info great fir if e^ confufion and difagreement of opinions, you

may

«,vTri xx6' istvrlw civTcc^Kiji i^y)f/.aOH<rx trs ix, Tura s-uTtiolx^. cap-. 6.

P *£v roo-^TCft 5 TiroXcy.cti >c) s-otj-M «J ^|gs^Aiv*« cvet "iotg «», «v 73'cc<rri y»i cu.o<puvo't vo^jlov x^ Xtyoi., "on ©£05 Hi ■ZFetyTUfi Qx- 9-tMui, }^ sruTyi^, f^ ©£oi cto^^o; ©£W TS-uid;/; <rtMX»)(^oiiT£i <S>eoj.

io8 SERMON IV.

may obferve one law, or d'tfcourfe, whereht all agree all the world over, viz. That there is one God, the King and Father of all, and many Gods, the offspring of this God and partakers of his government. This the Greek fays, and this the Barbarian fays, he that dwells upon the continent, and- he that lives by the fea, both the wife and the unwife. Thus much therefore for teftimony.

2. Lee it be coiifidered, how agreeable this is to what we find to have been prad:ifed in all confiderable Nations, of which we have a- ny good hiflory ; for the general pracSlice of a nation, for a long time together, is the lu- refl indication of what is the prevaih'ng opi- nion upon which fuch prad;ice is founded- Now" I believe we may challenge all the hi- flories in the world, of any credit, to name a- ny civih'zed people, where there was not al- ways fome form or other of Religious worfliip, Ibme publick place or other, either Temple, or Grove, or Mountain, or Altar, ufed and appointed for the performance of it. As to the particular kinds ofldolatry which prevailed ui ievcral nations, there may perhaps be fome account given how, and by whom, they were rirft. introduced. But there is no ground in the world to afTert, that becaufe there was a time

when

SERMON IV. lo^

when fuch a particular corruption of Religi- on firH came in among a people, therefore there was alfo a time, when fuch a people had no Religion at all among them. A man may as well afTert, that, becaufe there was a time when men had not found out the way of fo wing corn, or cultivating vines, for making of bread and wine, or becaufe there may be yet fome uncultivated corners of the world, where it is not yet done, therefore there was alfo a time when all men generally did, and a place where fome men now, do live without eating or drinking. "^ Orpheus is fuppofed by fome to have firft brought Religion into Gr^^^^ out of Egypt J whither he went to learn it. But had they then no Religion at all in Greece before his time? Yes, certainly ; though they had not that particular kind of Idolatry, or thofe rites and ceremonies which he brought among them. What new model he brought, or the time when , is very uncertain ; bur what'?*/<«^<? thinks is very probable, that the firft inhabitants of Greece did worfhipthe Sun, Moon, Earth, Stars and Heaven , asvifible Deities, as many of the Barbarous nations dill did in his time, and they called them S-m from

S Diodorus Sic. lib. i. ^ In Cratylo, p. 397.

no SERMON IV.

5-«v, becaufe of their fwifc motion : and thougH this be fomewhat different, yet, if we make allowance for time, it is not inConfiftent with what ^Herodotus tell us. That the ancient ^Pelafgi, who were the firfl inhabitants of Greece before the Hellens came among them^ facrificed all kinds of things, and made pray- ers to the Gods ; but that they had no particu- lar names or lurnames for their Gods , only they called them in general ^im^ from r/- ^;7jLfct or ^mcu , becaufe they ftit and kept eve- ry thing, and every countrey, in order : But that long after this, they learn'd out of Egypt the names of other Gods. As to the general behefof a future (late, that prevailing cuftom of deifying excellent men after their death 3 which obtained very early , and was very far fpread in the world, is a convincing proof of it, and is accordingly made ufe of by ' Tully^ and other good Authors, for that purpofe. There are indeed thofe, who call thelmmor-

•tality J

h^tv] uvTioiV ti y) UKr.Kiea-xt k(J. Oini 'j zr^iravof/.ccTccv o-^£«4

yofieci eip(,av' eVw^is j) ^c^^a tro^.y cuX6oi]'3)^ i7rv6at% cm t?? At- yii/itTii tcTTijffifytt TX Hyo/^ec^ T Bern it^ui. Herod, lib. %< cap. 51.. ' Cic. Tufc. Vifp. I.

SERMON IV. m

tality of the Soul an Invention of the Egypti- ans ^ and make Herodotus their voucher fot it ; and from thence would infer, that other nations knew nothing of ii^ till travellers brought it from thence.

Now if, indeed, the Egyptians had been fo much older than all the refl of mankind as they pretended to be , then this opinion might well have been firfl among them, be- caufe we fiippofe it to have been as old as mankind ; but otherwife they had it not before others, nor were the Invenrers of it: nor do the -words o'i Herodotus imply fo much; for what he fays is this, " The Egyptians are the jirft that fay the foul of man^ is immortal ^ but that after the body is defiroyed^ it paffes into another animal \ and that when it has gone through all land and fe a- animals , and fowls of the airy then it enters into the body of a man again , and this round of migrati- on i^ performed in three thoufand years '^ and

there

" ' ' ' ' " " ■ ' - I — ■ ■■

cMH ytytdjAiioi i<rdvi']cu ' iTrtxt ij ■sj-fg/if AC>] ■saLiisn ret ^effTtuci 1^

*!/»«»• r '2!fe<f«A>;cr<y 5 eu/rij yi-ii6iu £» j^ij^iXUtn irsTf T»^a» 'tm >ioy<o HTt ot t&>i<iav iX>^'i!^x/]oy c'l "fc wgjTfgjn 01 '^vTi(;^> «»? i^iCf> iuvTMf Ee>7« ' T iyv t^iiui t« tstiux^ is ypci<p«t. Euterp. at). X^I.

112 SERMON IV.

there have been fome Greeks , both former- ly and of later years , who have pretended to this opinion^ vuhofe names I know but will not fet down.

Now let the Egyptians have the cre- dit of this invention of Tranfmigration , if they pleafe, and let Pythagoras bring his do- (Strine of it from thence into Greece ^ yet the belief of a future (late was both in Greece and other countries, long before his time ; for not only ^herecydes profeffed this opinion, whole fcholar Tythagoras was before he went into Egypt ; but Horner^ who lived fome ages be- fore him, fuppofes it to have been a well known opinion in all countries, or ^X^t he could not have grafted fo many beautiful fidions up- on it as he has done. Herodotus alfb tells us, that the Get^^ the valiantefl: and honeflefl: a- mong the Thracians, believed the Soul's im- inortaHty, andfaid, when they died they went to the God, orAct<//.^v. Zamolxis"^^ (whoisia fome Copies called XoiKjjbo^ig^ and whom fome of the Gcta called TiQiKuliy ;) whom Ibme Greeks, out of vanity for their own nation, would make to have been fervant to Pytha- goras^ and from him to have carried this opi- nion

"*> Mclpom. cap. 94, c^ 9J.

SERMON IV. 113

nion among thefe Thracians: But this, Hero- dotus teJls us, he did not believe, becaufehe thought this Zamolxis, whoever he was, man or daemon, lived long before the time of Ty- thagoras.

The Greeks were very vain , as well as the Egyptians, and {o would fain pretend to the honour of difcovering every thing that once came into credit : but we can by no means allow ii in thefe original Opinions; though they may have had the firfl open profefTors of Atheifm among them, as the Egyfti- ans have had the invention of the grolTeft forts of fuperflition. For according to jElian^ ^ the wifdom of the barbarous nations^ i. e. ihofe that were not Greeks y is highly to be commended upon this account ^ that none of them ever fell to Athetfm^ or called the Be- ing of God, or a Providence ^ that takes care ofusy in queftion.

Well, but fbme will needs have it, that the belief of a Providence and a Future State, be- longed only to the ignorant vulgar, and that no philofophers or wile men believed them.

I And

varia Hijlor, lib, Z. caf. 31,

114- SERMON IV.

And the Author of the T>iJcourfe of Free- thinking aflerts, that Solomon himfelf denied the Immortality of the Soul, and argued for the Eternity of the World, and againft a Fu- ture State, in the book o{ Ecclefiaftes : and he pretends to vindicate his want of know- ledge^ as he calls it, in this important point, by obferving, ^ " That the Immortality of the " Soul was no where plain in the Old Tejia- " meut, was denied by the Saddncees^ the <' mod philofophical part of the Jewijh nati- " on, and of whom their magiftrates princi- '' pally confided; was thought doubtful by *' mod Sed:s .of the Grecian philofophers , '' and denied by the Stoicks, the mod religi- *' ous Sed: of them all; had never, accord- '^ ing to Cicero, been afferted in writing by " any Greek Author extant in his time, be- " fore Therecydes of the ifland Syrus, and ^^ was fird taught by the Egyptians , or ac- " cording to our learned Sir John Alarjham, " was the mod noble invention. No won- " der therefore ( fays he ) if Solomon realbn " like the learned men of his own countrey, " and the more learned philofophers of the " neighbouring nations." As to the Old Te-

Jtamentj

y Pag. 151, C?' 151.

SERMON IV. 115

ftamenty I think it may be proved beyond ex- ception, that the Patriarchs believed a Future State, and adted upon that belief; fo that the thing is rather taken as an allowed prin- ciple of natural Religion, than offered to be formally proved by the firfl: revelation ; which is a plainer evidence of its being anciently be- lieved, than any explicit declaration of the truth of it would be. As for the Egyptian Invention I have mentioned it already ; and as to the Saddiicees^ they were very far from being the mofl philofophical part of the 'Jew- ijh nation, as he would have them ; for Jofe* phusy who knew them well, reprefents them quite orherwile : but let them be as philofo- phical a Se6t as they will, there were none of them in Solomon's time , for him to reafoa like ; though their might be fenfual people, as there are in all ages, that have but little re- gard for another life, (fuch as they afterwards were,) againft whofe practices Solomon often argues. Nor have we any account extant, of any learned Philofophers in the neighbouring nations, except what are mention'd, in Holy writ, as far inferior to Solomon in wildom. Men of learning were very few, among the Greeks efpecially, at that time ; and if there were any, we have none of their writings to

I X know

n6 SERMON IV.

know what their opinion was , or how they argued againft another life. For Solomon is at lead as old as Homer y who is the firft heathen Author, whofe genuine works are come down to us ; and he was certainly acquainted with the dodrine of a Future State, and took it to be generally believed, though he do not fpeak of it in a philofophical manner, or argue for it from the nature of the Soul, as Thales af- terwards did ^ But the truth is , the great dcfign oi Solomon in that book, out of which this Author pretends to make him argue againft a Future State, is to eftabliili the certainty of a Future Judgment, which he not only men- tions in feveral parts of it , to keep up the fenfe of it in mens minds as they go along in it, but has made this the conclufion of the whole matter: '"'Fear God and keef his command- ments , for this u the whole of man : For God Jhall bring every work into judgment ^ with every fecret things whether it be good^ or whether it be evil. Now can any man of a common capacity j who reads this, beheve that Solomon denied a Future State ? And if this Author could, either ignorantly or wil- fully, give fb grofs a raifreprefentation , of

* Vide Plutarch, de Placit. Philof. lib. 4. f/?/, z. » Cha^. IX. y. 13, 14.

what

SERMON IV. 117

what every Englijh reader may fo eafily dif- cover him in , we ought not to be lurprized, if he have (Irangely perverted the fenle of o- ther writers, which do not lie fb much in the way of every common reader.

As to the opinion of Philolbphers, which he would perfuade us to have been gene- rally againft a Future State, 71?^//y has, in divers places of his writings, told us, that the ancienteft of them, and all the wifeft and bed, did hold the Immortality of the Soul ; and that the contrary was but a novel opinion a- mongthem. ^ I cannot ^ fays he, by any means come into their ofinion^ who have of late times begun to reafon^ that the foul dies with the body^ and that there is an end of all at death ; the authority of the ancients is of much more value with me. And by ancients he means thofe that had philofophized upon the fubjed, as appears by the oppofition to thofe, who lately begun to philofophize other- wife; and by his adding over and above, as diftind arguments to perfuade him to the fame thing, the pradice of the o\A Romans, the

I 3 dodrine

*» Neque enim aflentior iis qui hsec nuper diflerere coc- perunt, cum corporibus fimul animos interire, atque omnia morte deleri. Plus apud me antiquorum auftoritas valet. Qlc. in Ldio,

ii8 SERMON IV.

dodrine and fame of the Pythagoreans^ who lived in part oi Italy, and the conftant opini- on oi Socrates, who was, in the judgment of Apollo y the wifeft of men, *" and ijuho did not fay fometimes one thing and fometimes ano- ther in this point, as in many others, but al- ways ajferted the fame^ that the fouls of men were divine , and returned to heaven when they departed out of the body. This indeed he fays in the perfon of Lalius ; but in the beginning of the book , or dedication of it to Atticus, he allows all that is laid to be his own fenfe of the matter; as he does like wife what he delivers in the book de Se- neilute, under the perfon of Cato Major ; and in, that he tells us, he was brought to this belief not only from reafon and dijputation, but from the fame alfo and authority of the greateft philofophers. And towards the end of that book, he calls thofe that reafoned o- ihervvife, meaning the followers of Epicurus, in way of contempt , ^ petty Thilofophers,

And

'^ Qui non turn hoc, turn illud ut in plerifque, fed idem

dicebat femper, animos hominum efie divinos, iifque, cum e corpore excefliffent, reditum in coelura patere. ib.

^ Nee me foliim ratio ac difputatio irapulit ut ita crede- rem, fed nobilitas etiam fummorumphilofophorum^audq- ritas. Cato Maj, cap. 21.

^' - [\ .'Quidam minuti philofophi. cap. uh.

SERMON IV. 119

And the very fame fentiments are expreffed in all Iiis writings, where he delivers his opinion in his own perfon , and treats upon this fub- jed: very largely, and from the fame topicks as he makes his Cato Major and Lalhis do. It is obvious to any one, that reads his wri- tings, what an high efleem he every where expreffes for the judgment oi Socrates^ in mo- ral and religious matters, and how high a va- lue he every where fers upon the writings of Vlato^ more than upon other authors; and fince their opinion is ib well known, it would be a ftrong prefumption what were the fenti- ments oi fully alfo, if we had nothing elfe to judge by ; efpecially, confidering what a mean opinion he every where expreffes, of the un- derftanding oi Epic iir its in matters of Philolb- phy, both Natural and Moral ; and how little of common learning he fiippofes him to have had. But he has not left us to guefs at his o- pinion from fuch inferences, but has given us, as I have obferved, plain declarations of it.

The realbn why I take the more notice of this, as well as of what I obferved out of him before, is, becaufe the fore-mentioned author (p. 1^6. J has very unfairly reprelented the lenfe of this excellent writer ; infmuating as if he had denied the Immortality of the SouJ,

I 4 ev^n

I20 SERMON IV.

even in that very book of Tufculan ^eftU ons^ one great part of which is defignedly written to prove it, and the proof of which he immediately goes upon, after thofe words which this author has fo manifeftly perverted, and upon which he has taken occafion unjuft- ly to charge others , for impofmg upon the world, in dehvering the feofe oiTully, Which charge might fairly be retorted upon himfelf in divers inflances, [and particularly in that character which he makes Ttilly give of E^i- curus^ p. 130.] if there were now any occa* {ion to do it. I mud confels, when I fee al- moft all the writers which this author has ci- ted (which are not a few for fo fmali a com- pafs) fo grievoufly perverted, which could not happen either by chance or mere ignorance, I cannot but have a very fufpicious opinion of that morality , which thefe efpoufers of the caufe of Infidelity pretend to, fmce they have fo little regard to Truth or common fincerity in defending it.

But to return ; if the general current of the ancient Philofophers had not greatly favoured the doctrine of a Future State, as it would be very unlikely , that fb judicious a writer as Ttilly-, lliould condemn the contrary for a no- yel and unphilofophical dodrine, lb it would ' ' have

SERMON IV. 121

have been the fooliflieft thing in the world, for the followers of Epicurus to have mag- nified their mafter fo much, for being the in- ventor of a New dodrine, which, as they fup- pofed, would efFed:ually free men from all fear or fufpicion of what was to come hereafter, be- caule he afTcrted, and pretended to have found out, upon philofophical principles, the Mor- tality of the Soul as well as the body. It would have been much more to their purpofe, to have lliewnthat the ancient philofophers were of the fame opinion, if they had really been fo, bccaufe the concurrence of more wife mea in fo important a point, would have added more weight to it; even though they had al- lowed Ep'tcuriis the honour of reducing thele fcatterred principles into a new Syftem.

But perhaps the followers of Epicurus y^ct^ pot much more acquainted with the opinions of the more ancient philofophers, than their mafier was, who pretended that he was felf- taught, and had been beholding to no body for his learning ; which , as Tully obferves, might very eafiiy be believed from the mean- iiefs of it. (T)e Nat. T>. lib. i.)

However, though we may allow them to have been no great fearchers into Antiquity, yet it feems not likely , that they fliould all

fo

122 SERMON IV.

fo generally applaud him for the Founder of this dodrrine, if there had not been feme co- lour for it. If there had either been any form- ed fe<5t of philofophers , or any confiderable number of men famous for their learning, who had exprefly denied all future exiftence of the Soul, it is hardly pofTible that all his follow- ers, and efpecially fuch as Lucretius, could have been fo ignorant as not to have heard of it.

It cannot indeed be denied, that the anci- ent philofophers had very different opinions one from another , about the nature and leat of the Soul, and likewile about the extent of its duration. For according to Tully^ ^ They that hold the fe far at ion of the foul and body at deaths do fome of them think the foul to be immediately diffi fated, fome hold it to con- tinue for a long time, others for ever^ i. e. they did not all hold it to be eternal , or ab- folutely immortal, who yet held its future exiftence in a feparate ftate after the body. Neither need it be denied, that fome of their opinions were fuch, as being ftricStly purftied through all their confequeuces, would be found very different from , and even , in-

confiftent

f Qui difcedere aiiimum cenfent, alii ftatim diffipari, alii diu manere, alii Temper. Tufcul. lib, i . cap. 9,

SERMON IV. 123

confiftent with that immortahty, which the clear revelation of the Gofpel has made more fully known to us. For as the primitive dod:rine or tradition concerning either the Nature of God, or the Soul of Man, grew dai- ly more and more corrupted, through a gene- ral vicious practice, lb thofe growing corrupti- ons did very much obfcure the reaibnings, even of thofe of the befl underllanding, and ren- der them liable to much uncertainty, when they came to particular explications, of what they were in the general perfuaded of from traditi- on. They did not fufficiently diftinguiih be- tween the nature of body and Ipirit, when they firfl: begun to philofophize about them. And from hence we find that fome, who for certain held the Soul's Immortality, yet are faid to have thought it only a finer Ibrt of matter : And the opinions of others concern- ing the feat or chief refidence of the Ibul in the body, have been fometimes miftakcn for their opinion of its nature or fiibflance, parti- cularly Emfedocks^ is by s Tully faid to have thought the foul to be cordi fitjfuftim fangHt- nem ; yet, from what Tltitarch lays, it is e- vident, he meant this only for the feat of the

foul,

i TufcG^usft. lib. I. ca^.C). pint, de I'l.acttii Philof. iih. j\, f^p. J.

I

124 SERMON IV.

foul, and not the foul it felf. However, if we confult the remains of what is come down to us, of the moft eminent philofbphers among the ancients , we may fee that a Providence and a Future State , was what the wifefl and moft virtuous of them always held, and with- out which they could not tell how to folve the appearances, either of the natural or mo- ral world.

I fhall not now produce any particular paf fages out of the ancient writers to this pur- pofe, becaufe I Ihall have occafion to alledge fome of them hereafter, when I come tolhew, that this Behef, or univerlal Conlent, concern- ing fome Ibrt of Divine Providence, and Ibme kind of Future Stare, did not arife at firft from any Art, or contrivance, or compadt of men , in order to keep one another in awe ; but was really antecedent to it, and built upon a more univerfal Principle : of which, with God's afliftance, I defign to fpeak the next opportunity.

SERMON

SERMON V.

Preached May the 6'^ 17 17.

Heb. xi. 6,

But without Faith it is tmpojjible to pie a fe God: For he that comet h to Godmuji believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently feek him.

Have already, from thefe words, taken occafion to ihew, in my two laft Difcourfes, .

I. That, according to the general fenti- meuts of mankind, there cannot be any per-

fed

JaT'

126 SERMON V.

fedi morality expeded, where there is no be* lief of the firft principles of Religion.

II. That therefore all focieties of men, that have ever fubfiftcd in the world in any toler- able order, have always profeft the belief of God's Exiftence, and at lead of fome kind of providence over men, and an expedtation of Ibme Divine Rewards and Puniiliments.

I Ihall now proceed to confider the third thing, viz.

III. That thisbelief or univerfal confent did not arifefrom any Art, or contrivance, or com- pad: of men, in order to keep one another in awe, but was really antecedent to it, and built upon a more univerfal principle. My meaning is, that the firft principles of Reli- gion were not an human invention, but were know^n and acknowledged by mankind, before defigning men pretended to make any fecular or political ufe of them. The lliewing of this will be an anfvver to that objection, with which fome men think they can do great exe- cution againft all Religion, when they call it ^r left craft and contrivance of artificial men, • who have deceived all the reft of the world, ex- cept themfelves, and fome few others of great

cau-

SERMON V. 121

caution and deep penetration, who fcorn to be impofed upon, and are therefore refolved to aflert their own freedom, in believing no- thing. Now though in this and the lafl: age there have been divers perfons , who have mightily pleafed themfelves in drefling up their own Scepticijm, or inclination to Infidehty af- ter this manner, yet the objedion itfelf is by no means new. Nor indeed can it be expect- ed, that any new difcovery lliould be made of any real objedtion, which can af!e<St the firfl: principles of Religion, after they have flood the tryal of fo many thoufand years, notwith- ftanding the great inclination which fome per- fons, in almofl: every age, have Ihewn to dif- card them. New turns of wit againfl: fome particular modes of Religion may be offered, and old objedtions may be new modelled, fb as to ftartle, or unfettle for a time, the minds of weak and unexperienced men, who have not heard of them before ; yet when they come to be ftrip'd of their new drels, they appear to be at the bottom nothing but what has been faid many times before, and found upon examination very infufficient. And thus as to this objed:ion now before us, it is well known, th^t, in feveral ages of the world,

men

128 SERMON V.

men that have bore ill-will to Religion, as being very uneafy under the reftraints of it , and have therefore been defirous of promoting and encouraging Atheiftical principles, have offered liich fuggeftions as this againft the truth of all Religion, vi^. That the firft no- tions of it were introduced into the world by crafty men, who impofed them upon the ig- norance and credulity of rude and barbarous people, in order to keep them under govern- ment, by the fear of invifible beings ; and con- trived an order of men, whom they let into the fecret, whofe intereft it iliould be to fup- port and encourage fuch a belief, and that by this means it has been propagated from one generation to another. The mod plaufible pretence for this fuggeftion, is taken from hence, that a great many things, which, upon due examination, appear to have been cheat and impofture, have yet for a long time been current in the world, as part of Religion, and pafs'd as fuch without contradid:ion : and from hence they venture to infinuate, that the very foundation of Religion itfelf is of the fame kind, i e. a mere humane contrivance. And they know very well, that if any confiderable number of men could be brought heartily to

en-

SERMON V. 129

entertain fuch a fufpicion, * it would great- ly weaken the credit of all Religion, and bring an odium upon all who profcfs it, as being ei- ther impoled upon themfclves, or in a confe- deracy to impofe upon others.

Now though I am fully perfuaded, that nor half of thofe who make this infinuarion^ do really believe it to be true, becaule we find^ that in other parts of their arguir.g, they are often forced to admit iome things that are ut- terly inconfifteht with fuch a belief; yet be- caufe luch infinuarions, though they be known to be mere calumny, by thofe that ufe them, may do much mifchief, by filling the mirids of weak and unwary people with doubts and fcruples ; therefore it is fit that the matter illould be fet in a clear light, and the weak- nefs of fuch fuggeftions ihewn anew, though it have ofccri been done before; fince the fug- geftions themfelves are frequently renewed, with an intent at leaft to difparage Religiod and weaken men's concern for it.

The method which I now intend to take^ K in

3 Quid ? ii qui dixerunt totam de Diis immortalibus opi- rionem fidlam effe ab hominibus fapientibus reip. caufa, ut quos ratio non poflTet, eos ad officium Religio duceret, nonne omnem religioncm funditusfuftulerunt .'' Cotta apid Cic. di Kat. Deor. lib. I. cnp. 47,,

130 SERMON V.

in lliewing the weaknels and folly of this pre- tence againfl: the truth of the principles of Re- ligion, fhail be this,

I. To confiderit in the way of Fad, where- by it will appear to be without any ground or foundation in point of Hiftory.

II. In the way of Reafbn and argument, to iliew the abiurdity of fuch a fuppofuion.

I. To confider it in the way of Fad, where- by it will appear, to be without any ground or foundation in point of hiftory. They that pretend to give an account, how the gene- rality of mankind came to be poiTers'd with fo remarkable an opinion, as that of the Be- ing of a God all at once, if it had no ante- cedent foundation in nature, nor were ever known among them before, flioulJ, one would think, in reafbn be concerned, to a/Iign fbme time and place for fo extraordinary an event, to give it at leaft fome colour of probability. Far if there ever was a time, when all man- kind was entirely without any notion of a God, or Providence, and had always before continued fo, but yet all at once, either by confent or corapulfion, were brought to agree in the belief of his Being, fo great a revolu- tion

SERMON V. 131

tion could not eafily have been forgotten, but that fome footfteps of it mull: remain, and fomc memorial of it be preferved in fome part of the world by fome means or other. It is indeed fuppofed to have been brought about before there was any learning or hiftory, when people were all very rude and ignorant, and eafy to be impofed upon by their governors ; but then thofe governors muft at the lame time be fuppoled to have been men of very extra- ordinary parts and great llibtilty indeed, who could with fo great dexterity bring fuch a won- derful change to pafs, without being taken no- tice of; there muft have been fuch a prodi- gious difproportion between the capacities of the governors and their people, as has never been known in any age or country fmce. But not to infill too rigoroufly upon fuch fcruples, which yet muft require a great degree of cre- dulity to get over ; let us confider, what pre- tence they have from antiquity for fuppofing fuch a fad: ; and though they cannot aflign the exadt time, when fuch a general belief firft began, yet at leaft they ought to pitch upon fome time antecedent to it, when there was no fuch belief, or elfe they ought not to blame us for thinking it to be as old as mankind. It would indeed be unrealbnablc to exped:, K z that

132 SERMON V.

that they iliould bring us any authentick writ- ten Hiftory, of a time which may be fuppo- fed to have been fo long before writing was invented; but at leaft there iliould be fome traditional relations of it preferved in fome parts of the world, like the (lory of Tieiica^ lion's, Deluge, which tradition Ihould in time come to be taken notice of in hiftory, as fbon as hiftory begins to appear. But now they can alledge nothing like this in the firft begin- nings of hiftory, but the further we go back- wards into antiquity, the ftronger the tradi- tion runs againft this fiiggeftion. We may in- deed trace up fome particular kinds of Idola- try to their firft original, and we may alfo come up to a time when Idols began to be woriliip'd inftead of God; but to a time when men owned or believed no God at all we can- not come. We may go back, for inftance, to the Deification of Hercules or Bacchus , or the reft of thofe imaginary Deities, whoi were once mortal men, and whole worfliip therefore had a beginning from men ; but the higher we go beyond this, the nearer we fliall come to the original notion of the true God, the maker of heaven and earth.

And to this purpofe, it is a very remarkable obfervation which Ar'tfiatle makes concern.

SERMON V. 133

ing this very kind of anrienC tradition, ^ That there are thefe Godsy lays he, and that the T)eity contains (or cncompaffes) all nature^ are notions that have been delivered down by primitive and antient meUy and left to foftertty wrafd up in the drefs of Fable • btit that other things have been fabuloufly addedy to perfuade the multitude ^ and for the benefit of Law and publick utility. For thus they fay^ for inftance, that thefe Gods are of human Jhape, and are like fome other animals^ and divers other things confequent upon thefe opinions^or agreable to them \from which if a man Jhould feparate, and take only that which was fir ft or original, name- ly. That they thought Gods were the firft be-

K 3 ingSy

>c«rrtAeA«ftMev«t roli v-tC^ti, on &eot re «<r<» ^roi, i^ '''^i^'ixi '^^ ©«o» r cXLu cpvo-iv, TO, 5 Aa/3-oj f^vQiKUi riani zra^a-vx^''! t«-fo? T uh6w T %roX'Km >^ w^a; r Hi rm voy.Hi; j^ to a-vfupe^^ ^olIiTi]/. d)i6^6)TanSHi re y^ ryrs?, f^ T u}^u\i ^umv iyotiiq tit\ Xiyairi , xj TiiToti ere^x etKoXaOet, >^ iS}^cf.7rXitrt» Tolg H^ufd/joti ' <ui eiTtc, y^a^Q-xc, ajJTO XccQo i fiovey to jt^iMtov, ort ©ffer; ctlovro ret^ 35-f «r«5 tia-txi tiycu , .9«'<y5 «iy H^iiS-cn VAUic-Hf, >^ r.XTct to »x«$ -srey^cCKii j1/^;)^';;5 «5 to iuvxTov e«t«r»?5 f^ Tf;^v}}? >^ <PiXo<ro(p!xi;, 3^ sraAiw (p^H^fi^^m, >^ reuirUi reti <5o|«s tKHvav, oiov X&i-^avx ■zfe^itrcTui^ n'iXi^ »"« »««• «' 1^ «» OTarg^®- ^a|«, t^ ^ £6-^' T sr^uTuv fVi Too-irev ij.itTv <p»n^» f*.ciov. -^riji' Meta^hyf,

lib, A Ke(p, r,. in fine..

134 SERMON V.

ings, he might well think it divinely Jpoken, and that perhaps every art or fiience, being often found out as far as pojfible^ and lofl again, thefe their opinions have been pre- ferved, as reliques to this time. The opinion then of our forefathers, and that which comes from the firji men, is only fo far evident to us. This paffage deferves to be the more taken notice of, becaufe Ariftotle had as great an infight into the nature of human pohcy , as moft men, and is as little fulped:ed of credu- lity, in matters of Religion ; and in this place he makes as much allowance for human in- vention, as the cafe will bear; and yet he plainly makes a great difference between the truth of things delivered, and that fabulous drefs, in which it was conveyed down to po- fterity ; and likewife puts a manifeft diftincSbi- on, between the true original tradition, or be- lief of a Deity, and thofe other conceits, which were fiiperadded to it by human invention, for fome publick convenience , or better go- verning the people, which might be altered and changed , in different ages and places , while the fundamental tradition continued the fame. He had before, in this Treatife, with a great deal of metaphyfical realbnino;, alTert-

cd

SERMON V. 135

cd a firft, Eternal, adtive principle, as the Effi- cient caulb of all things; •" condemning thofc phiiofophcrs as very weak reafoners, who of- fered to phiiofophize about the nature of things, without taking in this firft principle; and commending ^ Anaxagoras, for making mind ox undcrftanding the caufe of the world, and of all order in it : though he blames him for fome other parts of his Philofbphy, ^ and particularly for introducing this mind^ only out of neceflity for making the world, and when he was at a pinch , for want of other caufes; fmce he w^as, in other matters, lb willing to allcdge any other caufe rather than mind. From hence it feems , in Arifiotle's opinion, that Anaxagoras ought to have at- tributed more to this fame y^?, or mind, in other parts of his philofbphy, than he was wont to do. Ariftotle himfclf, by confider- ing the nature of mind, and of a firft mo-

K 4 ver.

■^ Niv ei t;; hxuv tivcc*, xaGxTreo c* to7? t^aeK; yl ci ty, <pir^ T ouriov K. i KOTtm >C T? rcc^-ai^ ■z^(C(r>iCy oiof vy'^<vv iipecvi} 'sraj**

ei^-iif^'ey fHrm T yoym. Metaph. I. I. cap. 3.

Kj or»i X7rc^y,9-ri dice ri\t' etirixv £| «*«yx«5 in, ti'te eAk^ uurov. By 3 Tvii K^oti ■srxv^ fJLxThei ch'tix^ t y/vo^^'wv ij k^v. ih, ijap. 4.

1^6 SERMON V.

ver, and caufe of motion, concludes, that ^ God ii the mo ft excellent , eternal Being ; fi that I'tfe^ and continual eternal exifience belongs to God; for this is the notion of God, And it is to this one firfl: Mover, who is him- felf immoveable, and indivifible , and un- changeable , the firft being and caufe of all things, that he applies the meaning of the true original tradition before-mentioned, when ftripped of all human addition, and fable or aliegoryo For certain therefore , he did noc believe that the acknowledgment oi" the Being of one ilipreme God, was any human or po- litical invention. What opinion Tlato before him had of this matter, is evident from the whole tenour of his writings ; the great de- sign of which , is to ellablifli the firfl: princi- ples of Religion and Morality, the Being and Providence of God, the natural and eternal diftind:ion of Good and Evil, the Immortali- ty of the Soul, and a State of future Rewards and Puniihments; and he obferves how much happier the firfl: ages of the world were, and how much more innocent and virtuous, when the firm belief of thefc principles of Religion

did

* — ^cc/Lch ^ T ©tov HVM l^aev MiS'to}/ ag-iff'ov. wre ^eati >^ Mav 2i. 7.

SERMON V. 137

did more univerfally prevail among them. And upon this ^ he inftances in the time of Rhadamanthus^ the mod ancient legiflator a- mong the Cretans^ according to old tradition^ who had a ready and expeditious way of ad- miniftring juftice, and determining all contro- verfies, by the interpofition of an oath , or appeal to God ; for he knew that the men of that time were all efFed:ual!y convinced of the Being of a God, and the wifdom and juftice of his nature. But (fays he) in thele later times, when men are degenerated, and their princi- ples fo corrupted, that fome disbelieve the ve- ry Being of God, others imagine there is no Providence at all over human affairs, and a much greater number, are perfuaded, that the Gods may be appeafed with fome little outward ferviccs, or facrifices, and be flattered, fb as not to puniili them, though they commit the great- eft a(2:s of fraud or villany ; other kind of laws, and other forms of judicature, are now become neceffary to reftrain thoie, whom confcience, and the fcnfe of a Deity, do not perfuade; which in thofe primitive times of Religion, and fimplicity of manners , were the great guard of virtue in the age of Rbadamanthns.

Such

^ V'ui, Plat, de Le^g. lib, 12. p. 948.

138 SERMON V.

Such refledtions as thefe, iliew how far this philofopher was from thinking, that in facSt there had ever been formerly a time, when itien were without all fenfe of Rehgion ; and, on the contrary, how much flronger and clearer, he thought the ienfe of Rehgion to have been in former ages, as they approached nearer to the beginning of the world. For he luppofes, that the firft men came from God, and knew their own original, and therefore he tells us, in refped: ro this primitive tradition, s That we ought to give credit to thofe who were, as they faid^ the firft offspring of the Gods, fince they fiirely knew their own pro- genitors. It is therefore impojfible to disbe- lieve the children of the Gods , though they do not fpeak in the way offtrici and abfolute demonftration ; but according to general law or cuftom, we ought to believe them, as pro- f effing to declare only things which peculiar- ly belonged to themfelves , and with which they were particularly acquainted. It may indeed be objeded to this paffage, that Tla- to applies it to thofe which were vulgarly re- puted Gods in his own time, according to the fabulous Heathen genealogies of them,

for

e In TimAO. p. 40. Ed. Serrani.

SERMON V. 139

for which he allows, that no certain argument, or neceffary demonftration , could be given , befides this tradition ; and that therefore he ufes this only in compliance with law and cuftom, and to fcreen himfelf from harm, while he did not, in his heart, believe thofe vulgarly reputed Gods to be really fuch. Now admitting that he applies this argument of tra- dition to a wrong objecSt in this inftance, and feemingly defends the reigning fupcrflirion and polytheifm of his own time by it : yet from the ufe which he makes of it, to lead men to the firft Creator of all things, whom he im- mediately after brings in , giving inflrudlion to thefe created Deities, how they fliould pro- ceed, according to the powers he had given them, in producing other inferior rational Be- ings ; It is evident, that he thought the Ori- ginal belief of mankind, came gradually, by fome means or other , from the Father and maker of all things. For it is to be obfervcd, that he makes two forts of created Gods ; one in comphance with the then prevailing Theo- logy, which took the Heaven and the Earth, the Sun and Stars, for vifible Gods, as fup~ pofmg them to be animated ; the other fort, was of thofe ^cdfxovsg which were not vifiblc, but could, when they pleafed, make themfelves

known

HO SERMON V.

known to us ; of whom, he fays, '' That to give an account of their generation was above human skill, but we ougrht to beheve the molt ancient tradition , which came from them- lelves, as it follows in the paflagc which I mentioned before : and a little after, he calls the former fort , thofe which ' apparently move about \ or, according to Tuliys tranfla- tion, "^ qui moventur palamque fe oftendunt\ and the other, thofe which floew them fe Ives only in fuch a meafure as they pie afe, i.e. qui eatemts nobis declarantur quoad ipfi volunt. Now if we do but allow, that by thefe creat- edGods^ who were invifible^ but had a power of manifefiing themfelves , in fuch meafure as they p leafed^ Tlato meant fiich kind of Beings as we call Angels^ we may then fee a far- ther glimpfe of original Truth Ihining through this dark tradition, and conveying down to us, not only the notion of one fupreme God, but of thefe his firfl: minifters, which are, even in Scripture language, called the Sons of God.

It

" — Tflf -zife* Qsai o/T^Toiv «^ yYJ)HjTa)i et^yj^d^x (pia-iMq t^erta 1 — 0(re< re zreQ^TrohHcrt (petvi^e^i, t^ aVa/ p»ivovj Kxiexrw eit

* I» hfs hook de Univerfo.

SERMON V. 141

It is ro be obfervcd, that the firft men of Letters, of whom we have any account in Heathen Antiquity, were mch as they called Theologers^ that is , Poets or others , who treated of matters relating to the Gods and their worfhip, and who fometimes gave an ac- count of the original of things in a religious way, upon the ground, as it fhould feem, of anticnt traditionary do6trine ; which being by degrees corrupted according to the Poets fan- cy, and many Fables introduced into it ; Ibme by w ay of allegory dilguifing the truth, and others, in compliance with growing Superfti- tion, adding human paflions and vices to the notion of the Gods they woriliip'd; it came to pafs in time, that thcfe Fables, being fet ofF in a pleafing manner by the Poets, became the occafion of fuch infinite error in the ^W' pcrflrudure, that the foundation of truth was overwhelmed and almoft quite loft by it. Some men therefore being weary of this way, ftruck into another method, and begun to offer at giving an account of the original of things in a 'Phyjio logical way. But here they were greatly confounded : for the wifeft of them plainly faw, ^ that there was no proceeding in

this

^ See Ar.Jlctdls Meta^hyf. I, i. cap. 3.

1+2 SERMON V.

this way , without admitting an Intelhgent principle and firft caufe of all things. Though fome, that were conceited of their own parrs, fancied they could folve every thing by mat- ter and motion, even without a firft mover, yet in this they got but little credit among confidering men. The vanity and uncertain- ty of phyfiological fpeculations, and the great difficulty of coming to any certain and ufe- ful conclufion that way, made Socrates turn his thoughts to moral and practical Philofb- phy, as the proper bufmeis of men : and this he faw could not lubfin: without a firm belief of the Being and Providence of a God and of a Future State, and without thefe princi- ples he knew there was no proceeding to any fatisfa6tion, either in the Theological or Phy- fiological way. Upon his foundation ^lato, who was his Scholar, built all his Philofophy, but yet taking in all the hght that former wile men could afford him: and fo he was curious to fearch into all the traditions of for- mer times, and to confider what reliques of antient truth were hid under the dilguife of poetical Theology, as well as the opinions of thofe who fought to find it in the way of Reafon and Philofophy. And he could not in either of thefe ways find any ground for

Atheifm

SERMON V. 14.3

Atheifm, or fufpicion that the principles of Religion were a cheat.

Though 'Tlato be one of the oldcu of thofe Philofophers, whofe writings are come down to us in any great degree entire, yet we do not want fevcral inftances of the feutiments of fuch Philofophers as lived before bim ; who, though they had no great opinion of the prevailing Superftitions of their own times, which were eftablifh'd both by Law and Cul- rom, yet made both the Being of God and the future State of the Sou), not only an Article of their Creed, but a principle of their Phi- lofophy.

Anaxagoras^ whom I mentioned before, got the iiirname of i/5f, Mind or IntelleSi^ not only from his great skill and underftand- ing in natural Philolbphy, but from his conflant aflcrting, that not Chance or Necejjity^ blip an eternal Mind produced and ordered all things^ as ^ Tlutarch and others inform us.

Thales before him is reckoned one of the firft, who attained to any great skill in natu- ral Philolbphy or Phyfiology, and is by ™^W- Jtotle called, The 'Prince or Founder of this

fort

— ' — —— ..— <r u— —

' Plutarch, in vita Pericl'a.

Arijlot. Meta^h. lib, i. cap. 3.

144- SERMON V.

fort of^h'ilofophy. And he is generally reck=- oned the firft in order of the lontc Clals. And it is well known, that as he fuppofed " JVater to have been the firft matter out of which all other things were made-t fo he affirmed, that God was that eternal Mind which formed all things, out of it ; And that God knew not only the a6lions, but the thoughts and intentions of all men *. And it is related as one of his remarkable Apophthegms, ° That God is the mo ft ant tent of all Beings^ becaufe without any beginnings and the world the moft beautiful^ as being the workmanft^i^ of God. And his opinion of the Immortality of the Soul was ib much taken notice of, that he is by fbme faid to have been the firft that taught it, as Diogenes Laertim informs us ; which is not fo to be underftood, as if he had been thought the firft that believed a Fu- ture State, for the contrary to that appears from all the Poets who lived before him ; but only that he was one of the firft among the Greeks that maintained its Immortality upon

phi-

n ThaUs enim M'defius qui primus de talibus rebus quseii- vit, Aquam dixit elle initium rerum : Deum autem, earn mentem quce ex aqua cunfta fingeret. Cic. de N. D. lib. i.e. lo.

* vide, Diog. Laert. in z/ita Thaletis.

?re»W« Y^ Gsb. Laertiw in vita.

SERMON V. 145

philofbphical principles. And tlie like may befaid for Therecydesy who lived much about the fame age ; for he is alio by ibme faid to have been p the firji^ of whom we have any 'Written account ^ that faid the Souls of meti were eternal. And iti thi^ fenfe Ttdly takes it, for he fays, there were as he believes ma- ny others of the fame opinion before Phere^ cydes : But their written Memoirs in the philofophical way, it feems, went no highet than his age. And this is agreeable to the o- pinion oiTuUy^ concerning the belief of thole who hved long before the beginning of the philofophical age, in this very cafe ; 'J They^ lays he^ who had not yet learn' d any thing of natural 'Thilofophyj which begun not to be cultivated till tnany years after ^ had d full perfuaflon of fb much as they le^rn'd from the admonitions of nature., though they knew not the reafons and caufes of things. I need not mention the opinion of Tythd- gorasi who is laid to have been his leholar,'

L and

P Itaque credo etiam alios tot feculis, fed quod liferis exflet, Pherecydes Syrt:fi primus dixit, Animos hominum effe fcrripiternos. Tufc Onsji. I. i. cAp. 16.

*: Qui nondum ea, quoe multis poft annis tradari ccepif- fent; f)hylTca didiciffent, tantum fibi perfuafetant quantnin natura admonente cosnoverant : rationes & caufas reruin lion tcnebant. Clc. Tufc. g^. HI/, i. cap. 13.

14^ SERMON V.

and who was the head of the Italic Order of Philofophers, for his dodrine is fufficiently known. Now it appears, from the beginning of thefe two orders or fucceffions of Philolb- phy, ixomThales and Tythagoras, that how much ioever the firfl: Philofophers among the Greeks might be weary of thofe poetical fi- ctions, which had been brought into the Re- ligion of their forefathers, yet they had no fufpicion, that the principles upon which Re- ligion itielf was founded had been an human invention : and much lefs can they be flifpecSt- ed of coming in for any fliare of fuch inven- tion, fmce moft of them were fo far from be- ing partial tov/ards fuch principles any far- ther than the evident force of truth perliiaded them, that fome pretenders to Philofophy immediately after Thales, as Anaxtmajider^ 'Democritusj Leucifpus^ were the fiift that attempted to fow the feeds of Atheifm in their Phyfiology, which yet did not grow up to any formed principle till fome time after, nor were they ever able to produce fuch a tole- rable lyftem, as to give men of fenfe any (a- tisfad:ion, without admitting an Intelligent principle, which they would fain have a- voided. |

As for thofe furmifes which are raifed from!

paffagesf

SERMON V. 147

pafTagcs pick'd up oat of T^todortts Siculus, Lucian ^ Ammlanus Marcellinusy or other later Authors, about the original of Religion in Egyp, as if the firft principles of it had been invented there, what I have faid in my former Difcourfe, is fufficient to fliew the uri- reafonablenefs of them. And indeed fucli furmifes would never have been thought oii if there had been any probability of finding another time when Religion did firfl begin, bcfidcs the firfl: beginning of mankind. Buc the Egyptians pretending to fuch an incre- dible antiquity of Government above other nations, might fafely claim the invention of every thing : and admitting their Chronology, no body could difprove them. And they were ready enough to impolc their own fables upon the reft of the world that would believe them.

Herodotus {Euterpe, cap. i^^.) acquaints us, that they pretended to ih^w him a fuc- cefTion of Kings of human race for above ten thoufand years together, down from the time of Or lis (who was the laft of the Gods than perfonally reigned among them) toSethosthc Prieft of Vulcan., in whofe reign the army of* the Affyrians under Sennacharib w^as wonder- fully dcftroyed ; and they told him> that id

L % thssc

148 SERMON V.

that long trad: of time the Sun had fo altCfed his courfe, as to have twice rilen in the Weft and fet in the Eaft, contrary to what it now does, and yet that Egypt had continued all the while the fame. And now are not fuch prodigious Antiquaries very fit to give an ac- count of the original of RcHgion ; who be- fore this long race of men had a fucceflTion of Gods reigning among them for I do not know how many ages together ? However if any are willing to allow Religion to be fo very old, we are well content ; becaufe then we are fure they can never prOve its beginning to have been fmce Egypt was firft inhabited.

Upon the whole therefore, confidering that neither time nor place can be affigned to give any reafonable ground for fuppofmg, that the firft principles of Religion w^ere any human contrivance, we might without farther argu- ment conclude, that they were from the be- ginning, and that, as Tully fays, "" It was not any conference^ compa^ , or agreement of men that made them, nor vjas the perfnajion

or

■" Omnes tamen t.'^t vim & naturam divinam arbi-

trantur. Ncc verb id collocutiohominum aiu conlenfus effi- cit : non inftitutis opinio eft confirmata, non legibus. Omni i autem in ve confenfio omnium gentium lex naturiae putanda ; eft. C'tc. Tufc. lib. I. Clip. 13.

SERMON V. 149

or belief of them, founded or eftabltjhed in Injiitution or Law^ but that the confent of all nations in them is to he efteem^dthe Law of Nature. However, becaufe fome men, who would fain have fbme colour or pretence to be Infidels, are refolved to fafped; every thing that relates to Religion, efpecially if it have the countenance of Law or Authority on its fide, and would therefore infinuate, that although all monuments of thofe antient times, when they Hippofe men were without all ap- prehenfions of Religion, be dcflroyed, yet cpnfidering the advantage which Politicians make of ir, to keep men in awe, they may be fufpedred to have had a great hand in de- (Iroying them, the better to keep this fecret of Government from being ever examined in- to, after they had once luckily bit upon it : And fo Religion might be all art and contri- vance at firft, though no particular account can now be given of it. I Ihall therefore en- endeavour,

1. To fliew very briefly the abfurdity of I'uch a fuppofition in the way of Reafbn and argument. And to this purpofe let it be con- fidcrcd,

L 3 I. That

150 SERMON V.

T. That in order to favour fuch a fufpicion of the original of Religion, we mull: like wife fuppofe, that this projed: was begun when mtti were all confined within a fmall part of the world, that is, when they were either all under one Governmentj or when all the go- vernors of the world dwelt fo near together, as to be in fir id: agreement and clofe corre- fpondence with one another, fo that all fee- ins, the common advantage of it, took care ro come into the defign all at once, -and to rranfmit it as a great arcanum to future gene- rations. Now this fuppofition will go near to deilroy the very end for which it '\s> made, for it will naturally lead men to think, that mankind might fpring all at firflfrom one com- mon Parent, and fo to admit, that the Scrip- ture-Account of the firft peopling of the world may be very probable; and this will quite ruine the hypothefis of thofc, who think that the -earth has been inhabited by mankind from eternity. And as for thofe that allow the prefent frame, at lead, of the v.^orld to hat^e Isad a beginning, they mufl put this great fiippofed change of men's opinions about it fb verv near that besinnino;, as to leave no means pf difcovery, whether ever there was any fuch change or no ; unlefs they could prove it

im-

SERMON V. 151

impofTible, that the firft men, and (bme few Generations that fncceeded them, ihould have any notion of God at all ; which can never be done, except they can by fome demonftra- tive argument, firft prove the Being of God and his difcovering of himfelf to mankind im- poffible. Now 'tis very abfurd, to make a fuppofuion, which can never be granted till we have firft granted that which is defigned to be proved by it.

1. Let it be confidered, that it is a mucb more difficult thing to plant a new principle or perluafion in a whole people, when it has no previous foundation, but is dired:ly con- trary to all their former apprehenfions, than it is to make a political ufe of a general per- luafion that already prevails among them ; the latter may be done with eafe and by infenfible degrees, but the former can hardly be attemp- ted without great oppofition. And however force may over-rule men's outward profeftion for a time, yet it cannot fb eafily change their inward Icntiments. For that is a thing not to be effected in one generation. And befides, to enable the moft powerful Monarch to bring fuch a great dcfign about, he muft either have a confidcrable number, that do

L 4 really

152 SERMON V.

really already believe the truth of what he defigps to eftablifh by their affiflance, and theii the iuppofition, that all the truth of Re- ligion depends upon fuch eflabiiiliment, is de- ftroyed ; or elfe he muft really have a number of people, that adt againfl their own certain knowledge, to eftablilli a principle of Con- fcience forbidding all fuch acting, which i^ ftiU a great abfurdity. And as for this Mo- narch or Ruler himfelf, he nuifl: either really have believed the principles which he deflgned to introduce among his people, and then we are to feek for an higher original of it ; or he muft not have believed it, but known it to be a cheat, and then how caine he to venture upon an experiment which might in the end really turn againft him, when people faw that he intended to impofe upon them ? Which they would do, if he did not in all things a6t as one that did really believe himfelf Well, but to help out this difficulty and make peo- ple willing to be impofed upon, there are ibme (as Mr. Hobhes and others upon the princi- ples of Lucretius) that have advanced an ad- ditional hypotbefis^ which is this, viz,. That there are naturally in mankind fome feeds of Religion^ that is, fome peculiar qualities in |he very frame of their nature, which eafily

difpofe

SERMON V. 153

difpofe them to Religion ; fuch as, an Inqui- fitivenefs, or defire of knowing the caufes of all things, joined with an Ignorance ofthofe caufes, or inability to find them out ; an Anxi- ety, orendlefsfear, about things future, arifing from the like ignorance of nature ; and there- fore a Sufpe6ling of fome power invifible, though they know not what ; and a Defire, if pofljble, to prevent future and unforefeen evils. And from hence they iuppofe, that cunning men, knowing the wcaknefTes of human na- ture, and taking advantage of this general ig- norance and fear, and pretending to Ihew them a fliort way of iblving all their difficulties, by having recourfe to an invifible and eternal caufe unknown, which is able to do every thing , they might with eafe cultivate thele feeds of Religion into fettled Principles ; and the people would readily come into this delu* fion, for which they were already prepared by nature: and that when both authority and cuftom had confirmed it, and one generation had propagated it down to another, who would then difpute the truth of it ? But now, how plaufible Ibever this may fecm, yet it greatly fails in the very firft principle, in lup- pofing a natural fear in all men, without any natural ground or foundation ; and yet, at the

fame

154 SERMON V.

lame time, a natural defire of knowing the ground or eaufe of that fear. It feems allow- ed, that natural reaibn teaches men to enquire for a Gauib of every thing, (as fuppofing, that riothins: is without ia caufe) and not to. reft fatisfied in fuch enquiry, rill they come to a iirft caufe, from whence they can go no far- ther : And it is granted by thefe men , that all men have, and always had, a fear of fome invifibie Being, \Hobbes Lev'tath. l.i.cap.Yi?^ and that they were very ready to clofe with the opinion of thofe, who firft told them, that the prime objed: of this fear, was God, the jfirft caufe of all things: Thisinferrs, that the fear of a Deity is very natural, and, in fome degree, coeval with the firft conftitution of things. For what reafon then Ihould the truth of that caufe be rejected, which gives thebeft account of this univerfal effc(51: ? But why do thefe men infiit fo much upon fear? and make that the main reafon of mens {o eafily affent- ing to the principles of Religion ? Have not men hopes as well as fears ? and why are not chefe taken into the account ? Are not thof^ Attributes, which are the foundation of hope, as efTential to the notion of a Deity, as thole which create fear ? It may be they were un- willing to mention hope , becaufe this would

'be

SERMON V. 155

be a ballance for fear, and Co would fpoil this Hyporhefis, of fear alone being the occafion of mens fb eafily entertaining the notion of a Deity : or it may be rather, that their defiga is only to reprelent thole attributes of the Deity, which ihould make ill men as unwil- ling as poffibie to believe his Being : or that a propenfion to Atheiim arifes from luch a gloomy fpirit as is void of all hope from a wife and good Beirig. However, I cannot but oblerve by the way, that Atheiftical men, in owning this univerfal fearfulnels of man- kind, do in effed: give judgment againfl them- felves, and dilcover, that they are forced to entertain fbme apprehenfion of a Deity whe- ther they will or no. And though they will not endeavour to make themfelves fit to look upon him as the objedt of adoration and praifc, of love, and hope, and obedience, as being the author of all good to mankind ; yet they cannot help confldering of him, as the objedt of fear and dread, as being the foun- tain of all power, and it may be of juftice too, For that is what makes them fo lufpi- cious of evil from him. However from hence it may likewife be confidered.

3. That as all wicked men, who are defir- ous to continue fuch without any controul

from

1S6 SERMON V.

from their own Ccnicicnces, have a ftrong inclination to difcard the thoughts and appre- henfions of a Deiry, becaufe they have made it their intereft, that there fhould be none ; fo no doubt men of this temper would always have made great oppofition to the introducing of ftich a belief among men, as would cer- tainly give themfelves great uneafmcfs, if there had not been fuch a foundation in nature for it, as they could not wholly deftroy. Nor would wicked men fly to the practice of ftrange and monftrous Superftitions, as a re- fuge againfl: the uneafmefs of their own mind?, under the lenfe of a Deity, if the imprefHons of it, and the evidence for it w^ere not too ftrong to be overcome. For I doubt not but many fuch men really wiili that there were no God, and would be glad to deliver them- felves from the thoughts of him if they could; But they find the fenfe of his Exiftcnce plant- ed fo deep in human nature, that while they retain the ufe of their reaibn, they can never entirely root it up; which ihewstheunrealbn- ablenefs of fuppofmgit to be of mere human planting : Since, as ^ 7^/a(o long ago obfer- ved, though there be divers, that in the heat of their youth, or otherwile, endeavour to

periiiade

<" vide Platomm de Legg. lib. lo. tag. 888.

SERMON V. 1^7

fierfuadc themfelvcs thar there is no God, ydt very few could ever hold out long in this per- liiafion.

It might alfo be obfcrved, That if the prin- ciples of Religion had been firft introduced into the world merely by State- pohcy, the Politicians and Governors of the world ihould be likely to have known fomething of it, at leafl lb much as to have been lels fubjed: to thofe anxieties of Confcience, which the de- ipifing of fuch principles, or living in oppo- flrionto them, generally creates ; whereas we find on the contrary, that in all ages the greatefl: of men, who have had nothing to fear from human power, have been as much afraid, by the lecret terrors of Religion, and have undergone as great agonies of mind as the meanell of mortals ; which iliews their natural apprehenfion of a Power and Juflice fuperior to them, even though they are un- willing to confefs it.

But to conclude. The manner in which the Chriftian Religion was firft planted in the world, is an evident dcmonftration againft this fuppofirion of Policy. For it muft be owned, that all human power and authority- were againft the admiffion of it for fome ages, and yet it prevailed againft all their oppofi-

tion.

158 SERMON V.

tion. And it feems, as if God Almighty, by taking this method of propagating the Chri- flian Dod:rine, had defigned for ever to filence this objedtion againft thofe firft principles of Religion, upon which the Chriftian is built. But this confideration will come more pro- perly to be fpoken to upon another occafion.

Now to the King Eternal, Immortal^ In- vijible, the only wife God^ be all ho- nour and glory for ever and ever ^ Amen.

SERMON

k^.

Vveached S'epteml^er the i'^ 17 1/.

Rom. i. 19, 10, 21.

Becatife that which may be known of God is manifefl m them^ for God hath floe wed tt unto them :

For the tnvtftble things of htm^ from the creation of the world ^ are clearly feen y being tinder flood by the things that are made, even his eternal Pow- er and Godhead 'y fo that they are without excufe :

Becaiffe that when they knew God, they

glort^

i6o SERMON VI.

glorified htm not as God ^ neither were tbankftd^ «Scc.

mAwk

T is not nece/fary, to my prefent undertaking, that I fhould give an account, either of the main dcfign of the Apoftle in this Epi- ftle, (which is principally to iliew the necef- fity, which both Jews and Gentiles were un- der, of embracing the Gofpel of Chrift, in or- der to their j unification before God) or of the particular relation, which the words of the Text bear to fuch a general defign ; becaufe I intend only to make ufe of them, as defcrib- ing that knowledge of God, which the Apo- ftle affirms , that no realbnable and confide- rate man can eafily mifs of; fnice from the beginning of the world, God has always given men fufficient evidence of his own exiftence, (b as to render thofe men inexcufable, who would not glorify him as God, nor be thank- ful to him as their Creator and preicrver.

However, it may be obfervcd, that the words are laid down as a realon foi" that Al- fertion, which goes immediately before them, That, in the Gojpel, The wrath of God Is re- vealed from Heaven^ againft all ttngodl'mejs and unrtghteoiifnefs of men , who hold the

Truth

SERMON VI i^i

Truth in unrighteoufnefs. ThcApoftle hadjud before teftified his great rcadinefs to preach the Gofpel to the Romans^ as well as to all orhers ; owning, that he was by no means afhamed of ir, how much foever feme con- ceited men might defpife the plainnels and fimplicity of ir, as well as the outward mean- nefs with which it appeared in the world ; be- caufe he was fully convinced, that it was the po'-jver of God unto falvation.) to every one that believed it ^ boch Jew and Gentile. And that which makes this do(3:riue of the Gofpel, when fmcerely believed, and heartily embraced, fo powerful a means of Salvation, he declares to be this, That therein the righ- teoufnefs of God is revealed from faith to faith, i. e. That method w^hich God hath ta- ken to juifify penitent Tinners hyJefusChriJiy is now more clearly difcovered , than it was formerly under the Old Teftament , one de- gree of faith being added to another, accord- ing as the revelation it lelf, containing mo- tives of perfuafion , is improved ; though it was faith in God , and not the exad: out- ward obfervance of a written law, which could render men righteous, or acceptable in the fight of God , even under that former more oblcure declaration of his will: for M by

i62 SERMON VI.

* by works can no flejh be juft'tfied^ in that all have Jinned. But the juft Jhall live by Faith. But then farther, that which both iliews the neceffity of fuch a juftification by Chrift, and proves the doctrine of the Gofpel, to be fo powerful a means of bringing men to repentance, and thereby to falvation, is that clear Revelation, which is therein made from heaven , of the wrath of God fully declared againji all luigodlinefs , and unrighteoufnefs of men, whether Jews or Gentiles, who hold the Truth in unrighteoufnefs. And that fuch a declaration of God's difpleafure, agaipft all impenitent finners, is juft and reafonable, ap- pears from hence ; that God hath always com- j municated fb much natural knowledge of his ' own Being to mankind, as to render them inexculable for not glorifying him as God, their maker and benefad:or, in the feveral du- ties or offices of natural Religion and Morali- ty, in which they had been ^o grievoufly de- ficient. Even the Gentiles had light enough offered them, if they would have attended ta it, to condemn their abominable pracSlice, though they chofe darknefs rather than lights becaufe their works were evil. Becaufe that

which

* Viie R«m. 3. zor

SERMON VI. 163

which may be known of God is manifeji a^ mong them , for God hath /hewed it unto them : For the invijible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly feen^ be- ing underftocd by the things that are 7nade^ even his eternal 'Power and Godhead^ f that they are without excnfe : Becaufe that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful.

In rhcle words there at-e two things evident- ly afferted by the Apoftle, both of them di- rectly contrary ro thole pretences, with which Athcitlical men endeavour to skreen them- felves trom all the terrors of Religion.

One is That God has, from the beginning of the world, given lufficient manifeftarions of his own eternal Power and Godhead to mankind by his works, or by what he has plainly done, and daily does in the world.

The other is, That men having fuch evi- dent means of knowing God, if ihey either difbwn or take no notice of his Being ; if they neither glorify him as God, nor liiew a- Qy gratitude towards him, they become utter- ly inexcufable ; and will thereby certainly fall ander his jull indignation, for their negle<!^ of bim.

164. SERMON VI.

The firft of tbefe AlTertions is what I fhall at prefent take notice of. For having alrea- dy, in my former dilcourfes, endeavoured to ihew ;

I. That according to the general fenriments of mankind, there cannot be any perfedl mo- rality expecSted , where there i"^ no belief of the firft principles of Religion: And,

II. That therefore all focieties of men, which have ever fubfiftcd in any order in the world , have always profefled the beHef of God's exiftence, and at leaft of fbme kind of providence, and fbme expcdlation of divine rewards and punifliments : And,

III. That this belief, or univerfal confent, did dot arife from any art, or contrivance, or compad; of men, in order to keep one another in awe ; but was really antecedent to any fuch luppofed contrivance, and built upon a more univerfal Principle;

I Ihall now, according to my intended me- thod, proceed;

IV. To confider, upon what foundation this general belief or perfuafion, of which I have

hitherto

SERMON VI. 1^5

hitherto fpoken, is builr, or from what ori- ginal it proceeds. Which I iliall take occafion to do from thefe words of St. ^aul.

The queftion now before us is, What fuffi- cient caufe there can be adigned for fb uni- verfai an effed: ? And the Apoftle fays , that what is or may be known ofGody isma- n'tfeft among men , becaufe God hath Jhewed it unto them ; intimating thereby , That the univcrfai notice which mankind hath of a Dei- ty, is made unto them by God himfelf ; ^nd the way by which he conveys to them this notice, of his own Being and Power, and o- ther know able Attributes, is by his Works. For the mvifiblc things of him, even his eter- nal T^owir and Godhead^ from the creation of the worlds are clearly difcovered^ being under (food by the things that are made. It is not very material to determine, whether the words , from the creation of the world, be here to be underflood for the work of crea- tion, from whence they might coiled: the power of God the Creator; or to fignify the time of the creation, when man was firfl: made ; the power of God being to be known by all men, from that time, by his works , or by the things that are made and preferved by him.

M 5 f^r

i66 SERMON V.

For, take the words in either of thefe fenles, the afTe'tion contained under rhem will come to much the iame, and fignifies, that God, by his works of creation ar.d providence, both ordinary atid exrraordinay, harh afforded unto a'! men, ever fince the world began, liifficicnt •means of being convinced ot his erernal Power and Godhe.id : In the ju;'gment therefore of the Apoftle, that univerial perfuafion of man- kind, concerning God's exiftence, is from God hiraielf^, an(i therefore proves his Being. But the name of an ApoflJe, is of no autho- rity, to perkiade thoie men who dilown all. revealed Reiigign; and therefore we muil view this argument in another light, and con- sider the Truth contained in it, only in the way of natural reaibn and difcourle. And in order tb this, let us examine the leveralways by which {6 general a perluafion can realona- bly be fuppofed to have prevailed iu all ages, as this concerning the Being of God is known to have done; and we Ihail find, that they all confpire manifcftly to prove the truth and certainty of the thing lo generally believed. For that all forts of men, io diilanc from each other , both in time and place, fo different in manners and cuftoms , lo diiagreeing in their fentiments and opinions about all other mat- ters,

SERMON VI. i6i

ters, and fo oppofirc in their intercfts, fliould thus conftantly concur in one fundamental opi- nion ; upon which, notwithflanding they have raiied fuch contradidory fuperftrudures, muft neceffarily prove, that they ^11 have it from fome common original, antecedent in nature to all the notions or opinions in which they differ.

Now the feveral ways, by, which this uni- verfality of belief can be fufficiently account- ed for, may be reduced to thefe three that

I. This general concurrence in the acknow- ledgment ot a Deit) , may proceed from fome cprnmon Inftrud:ion conveyed down from one to another, from the very beginning of man- kind; and by that means derived into the fe- -veral ages and nations of men. Or,

X. It may, in ibme meafure, arife from the natural Frame or n^ake of every man's micd ; difpofuig him clearly ro apprehend the truth and certainty of it, upon the firft propofmg. Or,

3. It may be difcoverpd as a plain and ne- cefTary Conclufion, deducible, by common princip'es of reafon, from what is obvious to the fenle, and experience of every confide- ratc man, who. will but attend to thofe effecSts

M 4 of

1^8 SERMON VI.

of power, wifdom and goodnefs, which daily prefent themfelves to him.

It is not neceffary to aflign any one of thefe three grounds of perfiiafion, exclnfively of the reft, for this univerfal confent of mankind, in the matter of which we are now fpeaking ; becaufe we may be fully farisfied, that each of them have their Ihare, either in producing, or continuing, or confirming, this general be- lief among men ; and each of them duly, con- fidered, is a ftrong evidence for the truth of what is intended to be proved by them. Nei- ther do they at all interfere with one another ; for though, according to men's different ways of reafoning, one of them may appear more convincing to one man, and another to ano- ther, according as different men turn their at- tention more to one than to another; yet the aflerting of one, does not in the leaft weaken the force of the other!

The Apoftle here' in the Text, feems prin- cipally to infift upon the laft ground of belief, VIZ. That of natural reafoning from the ma- nifeft works of God ; becaufe he is fpeaking of thole, who profeffing themfelves wife, or affliming the name ofphilolbphers, yet be- came fools , in this pracStice of abominable I- dolatry, as well as the uore ignorant vulgar :

they

SERMON VI. 169

they became vain in their imaginations or rea- fonings, while they worlliipp'd the creature; which, if they had reafoned juflly and care- fully, would rather have led them to the ac- knowledgment and adoration of the Creator ; or would have kept up that original notion of God, which the lefs inquifirive part of man- kind had, for a long time, delivered down from one to another. But yet, by this reaibn- ing from the works of God, he does by no means intend to fet afide, but rather confirms all the other ways, whereby the knowledge of God is conveyed to mankind. And there- fore we may confider each ot them feparate- Jy : And,

I. If we fuppole this general concurrence, in the acknowledgment ot a Deity , to have proceeded from fome common InrtrucStion or inftitution at firft, and fo to have been con- veyed down, from one age to another, by tradition : This will neceffarily lead us to the firft original of mankind ; and io make it high- ly credible, that they all, at firft, fprungfrom one common-ftock. For, as '' I have former- ly obferved , no particular age or nation can be aftigned, fmce mankind was far Ipread over

the

^ See Serm the iv. and v.

I70 SERMON VI.

the e?u"th, for the beginning of fuch a tradici- OA» which has been fliewn to be much older than all the particular pretenders to it : and therefore, the very firft men, muft have been (bme way or other inftrudted in it. And who can reafonably be fuppofed to be their mafter or inftru<5ter, but God himfelf ; who firft gave them, their being, and who might, by Ibme difcovery of himfelf to them, Ibewthem, that to him they ow*d their being ? It is not un- reafonable to luppofe, that God might make a very plain and particular revelation of him- felf at firfl, which, while men attended to, they could not eafily miftake : or even fup- pofing them to have had, but the fame degree of realbn and underflanding, that men, who jire come to years of difcretion, now have, they could nor eafily be either ignorant of, or unconcerned about, their own original ; it be- ing the mod natural enquiry, that men new- ly come into being can be iuppofed to make. Nor is it likely, that they Ihould impute their being to a falle caufe, when the true one was (o very near them ; they being but the very firfk remove from it : and when they faw their own offspring, they would, no doubt, be careful to tell them the fame truth : for it cannot well be conceived, that the firft

parents

SERMON VI. 171

parents of mankind, when they were Co late- ly brought into being,, iliould defignedly go about to put a cheat upon all their pofterity, concerning their own original.

And this gives a reafonable account, how this general perfuafion of the Being of God, the maker of all things, might be propagated through all generations and countries. And that it really was fo , there are divers very confiderable arguments to perfuade us ; which, though they be not each of them, when taken feparately, liifficient to filence all the obje- d:ions of fuch men as are difpofed to cavil ; yet, when they are impartially compared to- gether, they will abundantly latisfy any rea- fonable and unprejudiced man. And,

I. It is obfervable, that before the arifingof the feveral Seds of contending Philolbphers, it was a general tradition , that the world it felf was made by God. This is evident from all the ancient Poers, who have faid any thing about the original of things, either defignedly at large, or only by way of Epifode ; as is well known to all that read their writings. And by the manner in which the Poets, that are now extant, introduce their Theology, we may fee, that it was the traditional do- <5trine of Poets yet more ancient. And there

is

172 SERMON VI.

is no doubt but that the firft Poets and Philo- fophers too, fct up upon the (lock of Tradi- tion, though, as the world grew older, they found out different ways of embelliihing, and by that means of gradually corrupting the an- cient doctrine. And as the practice of the world grew on by degrees to more kinds of Idolatry, fb the original tradition grew daily more and more debafed : but yet fo that fomc lines of primitive truth were preferved under all thefe difguifes. *" Ariftotle owns , that all the ancients believed the world was made, though they differed much about the manner of its produdion. And indeed, when they begun to philofophize about it, and to defers the ancient tradition, they w^ere greatly divi- ded in their opinions. And the love of dif- puration and the defire of faying Ibmething new, and different from others, led them flill into greater diverficy of opinion : But flill the moft confiderate of them law a necefTity of admitting an infinire Mind for the firft A(5tive caufe of all things. And ^ Ar'tftotle AfTerts, that they who affirmed in former times, that Mind or Underftanding was the

caufi

"^ Arifiot, de Coelo. lib. i. cap. lo. ^ Arijiot. Metnyo. lib. I. cap. 3.

SERMON VI. 175

caufe of the world and of all order, fpoke like men awake and in their fenfesy among Juch as talk'd at random. For that all things came together by Chance, or that the prelent Frame of the world hath been from eternity, or without caufe, were, in comparifon, very novel as well as unreafonable Dodrines, and the mainrainers of each could eafily fee the abfurdity of the other.

i. As to the manner in which the world was produced, there are fome reliqucs of old tradition icattcred up and down anciently iii moft countries, though drefs'd up in the guile of Fable and' Allegory, fuitablc to the genius of particular times or nations. Hence the ftories ol the ancient Chaos, of Night being the mother of 'Day, or darknefs preceding light: ^ of Water being the jfirft material principle our of which God made ail things, which was the dod:rine of Thales., but not his own invention : For though Arijiotle endea- vours to make him the firft broacher of this opinion, and to fliew from wha: confidera- tions he might be led into it, yet he grants,

that

« Aquam dixit (Thales) efle initium rerum : Deum autem earn Mentem quae ex aqua cundta fingeret. Cic. de Nat. Dear. I. i. (aj>. lo.

174- SERMON VI.

that " ^ there were fome who affirmed, that thef *' mod ancient men, long before that genera- *« tion, and even the very firfl: Theologers had " the fame notion about the original of Nature, « making Oceanus and Tethys the fathers of " Generation. And Water^ that is, Styx in *' the Poets language, the Oath of the Gods, *' as being the moft honourable, becaufe moft " ancient." So that after all he is forced to own, that he cannot be certain, but that this opinion mightbe much older than Thales.

3. That mankind iprung all originally from one common ftock, was an opinion generally received : and that the firll: of mankind re- ceived life, and Ibul, and utiderfiauding im- mediately from God, and was made in the image of God, and the like, are notions which occur very frequently as a common doctrine among ancient authors. And upon this foun- dation St. Taul does not fcruple to argue even with the Athenian Philofophers, and to con- demn the common practice of Idolatry by it. 8 God that made the world and all things

therein^ and hath made of one blood alt

nations

Ghv, &C. Metaph. lib. l. cap, i.

S A£ls 17. Z4. I

SERMON VL 175

nations of men ^ for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appoint edy and the bounds of their habit at iony. that they jhoiild fee k the Lor d^ if haply they might feel after him and find him ^ though he be not far from every one of us : for in him w^ livey and move, and have our being,, as certain alfo of your own^oets have faid, For we are his offsprings for which reafoii, we ought not to thtnk^ that the T^eity is like gold, or filver, or fl one graven by human art. All thefe are much beloXv the nature of Man, and much morel below the nature of him whois the original of all things, and of whom Man is but the image and oK- fpring. This was a dodrine of which they could not but have fome knowledge before, though Jefus and the Re furred ton were things new and ftrange to them.

4. This is farther confirmed by the gene- ral practice of almoft all nations, of deducing their firft original from ibme God, to whom they gavelpecial honour. For it being a cur- rent tradition among them all, that mankind was from God ; and they themfelves being by length of time and want of Letters, become ignorant of the manner and circumflances of their own firft planting in fuch a particular

country,

il6 SERMON VI.

country, were apt to fancy ibmething like the original of mankind to belong particularly to themfelves, and to alcribe it to fome particu- lar God, after that kind of Idolatry had taken place in the world : jufl: as later nations have taken a fancy to derive their original from Trojansy or Ibme other people, which they think very ancient in Hiftory ; after they have loft the true account of their own real an- ceftors. Again,

5. It is evident, that, as all men generally believed one Supreme God, the firft Maker and Father of all things, whom the Poets call ^ The Father of Gods and Men ; fo they were univerfally perfuaded, that under him, and a- bove mankind, were divers other degrees of intermediate Beings, to which they gave the name of Gods^ who were under the govern- ment of the Supreme King of the univerfe. As Artflotle fays, ^ All men are perjuaded, that thefe Gods are under Kingly Govern- ment^ becaufe many of themfelves now, and others anciently were fo governed. And as

men

- I I - - - M

" Tlccritg civa^uv rt ©t^iv re. * KflM rSi QeHi 3 J^/gi t^to ztrxv^ei; 0»!r) Qxrt^-djet^ art >^ «J- Totf o( (A- £TJ »^ VMt/, o« 5 -TB si^^ociov i€xa-t^^oyrc ' eiaxre^ 3 >^ rtt etS'ti ieu/rfii oL^oft-oi^o-m at oitB^MTrot' uru f^ ryj Ci'yj T &eeiy. Arift, Polit, I, I . cap. i . in fine.

I

J

SERMON VI. 177

men are wont to afcribe to themfelvcs a like- nefs to the Gods, as in their image, fo aifo in their manner of living. And that the(c inferior Gods derived their being and all their power from the Supreme God, and that they were his MeiTengers (or Angels) and chat fome of them did frequently appear to and converfe with men upon ipecial occafions, and that God had divers ways of communi- cating his Will by them, and that they did from hira frequently communicate the know- ledge of future Events to men, are general o- pinions, fo obvious to any one that reads the ancient heathen writers, that rhey need not be infiiied on. And yet it is hardly conceiv- able how fuch opinions fliouid fo univerfally pofTefs mankind, if the ground of them had not been evidently ilicvvn to the firft men, and fo from them derived dowq by tradirion ; for it is certain, that they were generally believed, even when there were hardly any real preient fad:s to fupport the credit of them.

6. That mankind was originally in a more innocent and more happy ftate than now it is : And that the Souls of men (hall live in a Fu- ture State: That good men Ihall be happy and wicked men miierable : That mankind 2i\\, excepting a very few, were- once dcHroyed-by

N a de-

n8 SERMON VI.

a deluge of water, for their great wickedneis: And that the earth ihall at laft be deftroyed by a conflagration: With divers other opi- nions of like nature, not eafily drawn from any obfervation obvious to fenfe, which are frequently to be met withal as vulgar opinions in the writings of the Ancients, may well be afcribed to the fame caufe, rather than to any reafonings of men ; becaufe it is plain, that when length of time, and the mixture of fable and idle Superftition, had fo detaced the Simplicity of the primitive tradition about di- vers of them, that the belief of them begun to be worn out, the Philolbphers, who pre- tended to afTert them upon grounds of reafon, were able to make but few converts. For though the grounds they went upon were good in themfelves, yet, being above vulgar apprehenfions, they had but little efFedt, either in lupporting or retrieving the ancient do- d;rine.

7. Laftly, there are feveral pradtical Infti- tutions relating to Religious worlhip, and de- figned to keep up the fcnfe of God and his Providence, both general and particular, in the minds of men, which have generally prevail- ed in the world, liich as, the offering of Sacri- fices, both propitiatojiy and euchariftical ; the

offering

SERMON VI. 17^

offering of firft-fruits and ty thes ; the fetting apart of particular, perfons to minifter in things pertaining to God, the appointing of Fefti- vals, making of vows, invocating the Deity in folemn appeals or oaths, and confulting him by Oracles , in cafes of doubt and diffi- culty.

Thefe and divers other general ufages, feme of which cannot be accounted for by natural light, prevailing as much as if they had been the refult of Nature and Reafon (and fome perhaps much more than if they had been on- ly fuch) do plainly imply, that there was at firft fome one common original from whence they were derived. And though long trad: of time, and tranfplanting into divers countries^ leparate or contrary interefts of different fa- milies or contending nations, men's aptnefs to miftake one another, the love of novelty and change, the particular dcfigns of crafty men, and many other reafons muft needs have greatly altered and corrupted the firft inftitu- tion, or moft primitive dodrine of Religion and the worfliip of God ; yet ftill there were fuch vifible remains of it fcattered up and down in every nation, as, being compared with one another, would evidently difcover, that they all at firft fprung from one cora- N 2. mon

i8o SERMON VI.

mon roor, and that mankind in the beginning was inftrudted by one common mafter.

This matter might be in fome mealure con- firmed by divers ufsges, cuftoms and opinions of a civil, and others of an indifferent na- ture, which have generally obtained in raofl: nations of the world, and yet have either but very little or no foundation in nature, befides ancient and univerfal pradice, or tacit agree- ment to follow what was once begun. Of this kind, fome have taken notice of the man- ner of counting by decades; which though it have a raanifeft convenience, making it fit to be continued and farther improved, yet it may be doubted, whether there be any thing in nature leading diredtly to it, fmce other ways have alfo been traditionally followed, though not fo univerfally : The general agree- ment in the ancient number and order, and, n^ar upon, in the fame names of Letters : The compofition of Days into Weeks or Hebdo- mads, of which the reafon, fetch'd from the feven Planets, feems to be an invention of I- dolat ers, long after the thing it felf was fettled in pradtice , but the true reafon of it loft : Some circumftances relating to Marriage and Affinity, and to Funerals, and a decent in- terrment, and the like, which I fliall not in- fill

SERMON VI. i8i

fill: upon. I iliall but jud mention one thing more of this kind, of which I think neither any account can be given from the nature of the thing, nor any inftance to contradid: the univerfality of its prevailing, and that is> The relpedt or preference given to the Right hand above the Left, which as there can be no la- risfad:ory reafon given for it, befidcs the ufage of the firfl men, fo there being neither inre- refl nor convenience to induce men to change it, I make no queftion but it will always con- tinue.

Now the refult of all that I have faid, un- der this head, of one original Inftrudtion, de- rived into the feveral ages and nations of men by tradition, is this. That though all tradi- tion, by length of time and depravation of manners, be liable to great variation and cor- ruption, yet where there appears fomethingin it that has always continued in fubftaoce the fame, notwithflanding all the mixtures and additions which time and the corrupt man- ners of men have made to it, thee we may juftly fiippofe, that the firfl: foundai ion of it, which has fo continued, was laid in truth : and applying this to the fundamental prin- ciples of Religion, we may well conclude them to be true. And this ground both Tlato

N 3 i^n^

i82 SERMON VI.

and Ttilly^ and other eminent Heathen Au- thors frequently infill upon. But then if fome of the things above-mentioned be ^compared with the firft records of our Religion, which juftly pretend to be the moft ancient wri- tings in the world, the argument will re- ceive much greater ftrength. And it has ac- cordingly been largely treated of to very good purpole by divers excellent Authors, and par- jL'icularly by Bifliop Sttll'mgfleet in his Or'igines Sacra. I proceed now to mention,

II. The fecond way by which this univer- fal belief of the firfl principles of Religion, and more elpecially of the Being of God, may in fome meafure arife, and that is from the natural Frame and make of man's Mind, dif- pofmg him clearly to apprehend the truth and certainty of it upon the firfl: propofmg. I do not here intend to enter into the controverfy about innate Idea's, or whether our Idea of God be innate. Only I mufl: obferve, that there are fome truths fo very obvious to the Mind of man, upon his firft turning his thoughts towards them, that he cannot, without vio- lence to his own mind, refufe his affent to them. And thefe coming fo readily to be embraced by all men, without any previous

reafon-

SERMON VI. 183

reafoning's, or any obfervable dcdudbions of one conclufion from another, in the way of argument, have made fome men beheve them innate. And that the notion of God is of the fame kind with thole other truths, which are thus fancied by fome to be originally in the mind, we have the plain confeffion of that Se6t of Philofophers, who would very wil- lingly have argued againft any Being of God at all, if they Could, I mean the dilciples of Ejpictirus ; whofe argument is thus reprefen- ted by Tully, in the perfbn of Velle'ms^ (as I formerly obierved Sermon the IV.) Tbatfmce this opinion is founded not upon any injiitu^ tion^ or cuftom^ or law^ andyet all to a man agree in it : We muft ofnecejjity believe that there are Gods^ becaufe we have implanted^ or rather innate notions of them. And what the nature of all men agrees in muji necejfa- rily be true : The Exijfence of God mufi therefore be acknowledged.

I will not undertake entirely to vindicate this argument, in the manner eipecially as the Epicureans made ufe of it. All that 1 would infer from it, is this, That the thing was fb obvious to their minds, that they could not well either avoid or deny it ; and they knew not well how to account for it othervvile N 4 than

i84 SERMON VL

than by fuppofing ir innate. But now, though we do not luppoie the notion of God to be innate, in this ftrid: fenfe, yet if every man be naturally difpofed to receive it, as foon as it is propofed to his underftanding, if it break in upon his mind as foon as he comes to the exercife of his Realon, hke light to the eyes as ibon as they are open and capable of ad- mirtinpf it, ^ as fome ancient Authors have ex- preis'd the nature of ir, then it may juftly be called Natural to the mind of man. And that it really is fo, we have this plain evidence, that it is hi fadt, more dii?icult for a man to divefl himfelf wholly of this belief, and to fubdue all the appreheofions of ir, than it is to conquer any other of thofe common in- clinations or averfions which no man fcruples to call natural.

There arc two things, I know, which are by fome thought to be confiderable objecStions againfl: this notion of God's Exigence being fo natural or evident to the mind of man as is pretended. One is, That there are in the world fome nations of men, x^hich have nc notion of God or Religion at all. And the

other

^ OvT6) ^^^.TtSijO/joi rxi '■pv^oti; ■argjj dure, uaare^ e'tfieu ■sr^i TB (pai Tx QxtTTunec. Julian. Or at. 7. ad Heraclmm. ^ag. 209.

SERMON VI. 185

other is, the great wickednefs of fo many men, who live fo dire(5tly contrary to all fenie of God, that they cannot be conceived to have any natural perfuafionof his Being. Butnow I think neither of thefe objedions, if fairly confidered, are of any great moment. For,

I. If we fliould grant that there are fbme clans of men, as the Hottentots for inftance, or fome fuch like people, who are {o far lunk into brutality, that there appears little or no fign, of any notion of a God or Religion a- mong them, how will this prove, that the no- tion of God is not natural to a reafonable mind? fmce it is evident, that they are as void of all other reafonable notions , which men feldom fcruple to call natural in this lenfe; and it would be hard to make fuch creatures the ftandard of human nature, who have fo very little of it, befides fomething of the outward form. But as httle fcrvice as the granting or fuppofing this want of all figns of Religion, in fome people, will do, towards proving the notion of a God not to be natu- ral to mankind ; yet there is no occafion to grant even this ; becaufe , by the mod exad: accounts taken from thofe who lived upon th^ fpot with thefe Hottentots^ and had beft op- portunity of knowing their cuftoms, they do

fome-

iS6 SERMON VI.

fometimes pray to a Being that dwells above, and offer facrifice of milk, and the bed chinas they have , with eyes lifted up to heaven. And even thole Travellers, who had nor io long opportunity of obfervingthus much a- mong them., yet allow, that they have fonre iliew of religious rejoycing at the New and Full Moon. Now theie people are by all al- lowed to be the mod degenerate of the hu- man fpecies, and to have fnrvived the com- mon inflhiEis of Humanity : [t^^^ OvingnonV Voyage to Surat, p. 490.] And therefore, as to what fbme have affirmed of feveral other people in different corners oi America, that have been without any notion or belief of a God, we have flill lels reafon to give any credit to it. Thofe who make fuch relations concerning them , having either been their mortal enemies, who have faid the very worft things they could think of, to excule their own inhuman cruelty towards them ; or elfe mere flrangers among them, utterly ignorant both of their language and cuftoms, and not very inquifitive into any thing befides their Gold, or other treafure, but what appeared at flrfl: : and fuch perfons not finding any figns of luch Religion or Superftition, as themfelves had been ufed to , prefently concluded they

had

SERMON VL 187

had none. And Ihould fuch fort, either of pre- judiced or incurious travellers, come intofome parts , of even the beft Countries of Europe^ where they underftood as little, and did not happen to fee any of their Religious worlhip, they might, perhaps, be apt to make the ve- ry lame relation of them.

But it is certain, that both the firft difcover- ers of thofe places, who went with lefs pre- judice, and the mod underftanding perfons fmce, who have been converfant among them, and examined them mod narrowly, do agree, that they all own a God , or fupreme good Being, though they have very different noti- ons of his perfedtions , and of the manner of worfhipping him; and that moll of them alfo believe a Future State, in which the conditions of good and bad men will be very different *.

-L. As to the wickednefs of fuch numbers of men in all countries, who hve in contradi<3:i- on to any firm and certain belief of a God , which is urged as an argument, that the no- tion of him is not fo natural as is pretended,

I think

* Ste this matter made out from good authority by hifloop ^ciilingfleet, in the neiv part of his Oi:ig. S&ci: book.i. chap.i. m- 73-

i88 SERMON VI.

I think it may be truly replied, that mens thus holding the Truth in unrighceoufoefs, is rarher an evidence, that Ibme notion of that Truth is natural. For if they, whofe practice makes it their intereft, that there lliould be no God ;• and who are forced to labour hard, to ihut their eyes againfl; all the confequences or be- lieving, can yet feldom be able to bring them- ielves to hold out in denying him ; 'tis a fign the light ftrikes ftrong upon them, even while they feek to iliut it out : The notion is fo natural that they cannot get rid of it, but that it will be returning upon them , let them do what they can to prevent it ; in fo much, that they find out the moll: abfurd ways of corrupt- ing the natural notion of God by liiperftiti- on, becaule they cannot quite difcard it ; and yet are unwilling to part with the plealurcs of /in, as they ought, if they would purfue thejuft confequences of it. I cannot, indeed, call thefe men properly Believers in a religi- ous icnfe, but they are certainly in the num- ber of thofe, who profels to know God, though in works they <leny him : And they Ihew how difficult it is to oppofe, and how extravagant and unreafonable to deny, a truth, which our own nature will every day remind us of It is like going againfl a natural inftin(St,

which

SERMON VI. 189

which to all other creatures is efteemed a cer- tain guide. And if we would be led by this judgment of narure, which theconfent of all ages has, in effed:, vouched to be iuch, we need not fear miftiking, if we determine man to be naturally a Religious, as well as Realb- nable Creature.

SERMON

iggszgasaisas^gg«!^^^'3s»r;gyv«3Eoa»5■^te

SERMON' VIL

VveCichcd Offoi^er the 7^'^ 17 17.

Rom. i. 19, 20, 21.

Becar/fe that which may he known of God IS inamfefl m them^ for God hath [hewed it unto them:

For the tnvtfible things of him^ from the creation of the zvorld , are ^ clearly feen , being under flood by the things that are made^ even his eternal Pow- er and Godhead '^ fo that they are w'lthout exciife :

Becaufe that zvhen they knew Gody they

'llori'

152 SERMON VII.

glorified htm not as God ^ neither were thankful^ Sec.

jHere are, as I hinted in my Jaft Dilcourfe, Two things evidently afferted by the Apoftie, in theie words, which are both of them diredly contrary to thofe pretences, with which Atheiftical men endeavour to skreen themfelves from the terrors of Rehgion :

One is, That God has, from the beginning of the world, given fufficient manifefiations of his own eternal ^Power and Godhead to mankind y by his works , or by what he has plainly done, and jlill continues to do, in the world :

The other is, That men having fnjficient means of knowing God, if they either difown, or take no notice of his Being ; if they nei- ther glorify him as God, nor jhew any grati- tude towards Joim, they become thereby utter- ly inexcu fable , and will therefore certainly fall under his jufi indignation^ for their neg- le5f of him.

The firft of thefe AfTertions is what I am now upon ; and have, in Ibme part , before Ipoken to ; in iliewing, upon what founda- tion the general belief or perluafion of the Be- ing

SERMON VII. 193

ing of God is builr, or from what original it proceeds.

Two grounds of this I have already con- fidered, viz.

I. Some common Inftrudtion at the firft, conveyed down from one to another, from the very beginning of mankind, and by that means derived into the feveral ages and nati- ons of men : And,

II. The natural Frame or make of every man's mind, difpofing him clearly to appre- hend the truth and certainty of it, upon the firfl: propofing. And from thefe two, mipar- tially confidered, I hope it will appear, that ib univerlal a confent of mankind, ought not to be defpifcd, as a thing ill grounded; but that we may juftly reckon it, (as Tfi/Zy calls it,) ' ^ Law of nature : Not an uncertain opinion founded upon fidtion, but one of thofe judgments or determinations of nature ^ which cannot be deftroyed, but confirmed, by length of time and obibrvation of the nature of things. I proceed therefore to the

O III. Third

=" Cic. Tufc. I. cap. 13.

b Opinionum cominenta dclet dies, naturae judicio confir- mat. Balb. apud Cic de N. D. I. z. cap. 1.

1,94 SERMON VIL

-■ III. Third ground cf this univerfal perfiia- fion of rhe Bcin^ of God, viz. The common principle of Reafon deducing this, as a plain and necefTary conlequence or conciufion, from the obfervation of thofe vifible Effects of pow- er, wifdom and goodnefs, which are obvious to every confiderateman, who will but attend to them. I do not fuppoie, that this is the way by which the generality of men firft come to their notion of a Deity, for that is certain- ly to be attributed rather to the two forego- ing grounds. But that which confirms and improves this notion, in thole that are alrea- dy prepoifefied with it by tradition, or the namral working of their own mind, that which which gives them entire farisfa<51:ion about the truth and certainty of it, when any doubts a- rife about thofc former imprefTions, is the fe- rious confideration of the mighty works of providence, which they cannot help obferving \v\\zn they turn their eyes towards the vifible world. To thispurpole, Tnlly y in the per- fon o^ BalbtiSy commends an obfervation of ■Ariftotles % which is to rhis effedt : Suppofe^ fays he, tbet^e 'were fome men who had air- ways

c Pixclare ergo Aridoteles, li ellent, inquit qui Tub terra fcmper habitaviirent, CT-t. Vtdc Cicer. de Nat. Deor. lib. 2.

SERMON VII. 195

"ways lived under ground, though in conveni-, ent arid nohle apartments , finely adorned ^ lUnd fiirni/hedwith all fitch accommodations^ as tend to make the life of man eafy in fuch a condition ; but yet had never at any time come from under the earth, but had only heard of a IDeity, or divine Tower, by re- port : Now fuppofe that thefe fame fubter^ raneous men fhould fome time after , by the opening of the earth, come out of their hid- den regions^ into this habitable world, and be furprized with a clear view of the earthy and the fea, and the heavens, and flootUd ob* ferve the vafinefs of the clouds, and the force of winds ; and feeing the fun, fhould confl- der its magnitude, fplcndour, and prodigioti^ influence ; how it makes day, by diffufing its light through the whole heaven : And when the night fhades the earth, imagine them to behold, the whole heaven adorned with fiars of different magnitude, and the various pha- fes of the moon, and to obferve^ the co7ifiant^ regular , and perpetual motion , of all the heavenly bodies : when they have feen and confidered all thefe things, they would un^ doubt edly conclude^ that there is a T^eity^ and that all thefe great and flupendous things are his workmanfl?ip. Thus, in the opinioa

Ox of

196 SERMON VII.

oiAriJiotle, this would be a very natural way of arguing. And he is by no means fingular in his judgment of the matter ; fince all other y« even heathen, writers, both before and after him, who have in earned endeavoured to per- fuade men of the being of a God and a Provi- dence, have ever look'd upon this as a very convincing argument : And Tully particular- ly, from whom we have the forementioned palTage oi Arijiotle^ is very copious upon this iubjcSt, where he defignedly treats of it, in the perfon of a Stok^ and thinks that ^ Thi- lofophers , what rude apprehenfions foever they yn'ight have upon the the fir fi im^erfeB *v tew of the world, yet when they come to obferve the determinate and uniform moti- ons of it, and how all are governed by fiated laws, in unchangeable order, and conjiant regularity , ought to underfiand, that there is not. only fo?ne underftanding inhabitant in this heavenly and divine fabric k, but alfo a

Ruler,

^ —Sic philofophi dcbuerunt fi forte eos primus afpedus jtiundi contLubaverar, poflea cum vidilTent motus ejus fini- tos &: oequabiles, omniaque ratis ordinibus moderata, im- mutabilique coiiftantia, intelligere ineffe aliquem non folum habitatorem in hac coelelli ac divina Domo, fed etiam redo- :em moderatorem & tanquam architedum tanti operis, tan- lique muneris. Ck. de Nat. D. I, z, cap. 35.

SERMON VII. 1^7

Ruler ^ Governoiir, and Ar chit e6t^ f^ffi great and admirable a work. And he fays, that they are lo far from being worthy of the cha- ra6ter of philolbphers, ^ x\\2iX. they do not de- ferve the name ofmen^ (or rational creatures) "Jijho , when they fee the conftant motion of the heavens^ and the eft ablijhed order of the ftars , and all things fo correfponding withy and depending upon^ each other ^ in fuch an admirable harmony , Jhonld yet deny that there is reafon and wife defign in them ; or footdd imagine that fuch great things were 7nade by chance ^ which jhew a wifdom fo 'vaftly fuperior to all that we can exert in the difcoveyy of them. And in divers other places of his writings, where he mentions this occafionally , as his own argument, he infifts upon ir, as what no man of common fcnfe can realbnably contradid:^. And indeed, when the O 3 queftion

« Quis eniin hunc hominem dixerit, qui, ciim ta:n certos co3li motiis, tarn ratos aftrorum ordines, tamquc omnia inter fe connexa & apta viderit, neget in liis uUam die raiionein; eaque cafu fieri dicat, qu£e quanto confilio geiantur, nullo confilio afFequi polTumiis, ih. cap. 3S.

^ Quid eft enim verius qiiam neminem effc oportere tain ftultc arrogantem, ut in fe mentem & rationem putetinefle, in coclo mundoque non putet ? aut ea, qucc vix fumma in- genii ratione comprehendat, nulla ratione moveri putet ? /i^. z. de Lcgg.

198 SERMON VII.

queftion is, whether all things exift, in fuch a manner as they do, by mere chance, or by virtue of a Inperintending Mind, infinitely wife, and good, and powerful, the proper way of determining it , is to appeal xo the things themfelves, and to fee what charadters of wifdom , goodnefs and power , they evi- dently bear; and if the more curioufly we fearch into them, and the more attentively we obferve them, we find thefe marks and fig- natures (till more and clearer in every one of them, it mud needs fo much the more weaken all our fufpicions of chance having any hand in them, and fo much more confirm our be- lief or opinion of a wife, and good, and pow- erful Being, prefiding over theui, and dire<51:- ing all their motions. ^ When we iee any fine piece of movement , as a Iphere or a clock , or any other curious machine , we make no icruple to fay , that it is the work of Reafon and Art, though we fee not the Artift : and when we behold the admirable motions of the heavenly bodies 3 of which all. other move- ments are but a faint copy ; and confider , with what regularity and uniformity their con-

ftant

g An cum machinatione quadam moveri aliquid videmus, ut fphaeram, ut horas, ut alia pcrmulta ; non dubitamus quin ilia opera fmt rationisi ciim autem impetum coeli, &c. Cic. de N. D. lib, z. c. 38.

SERMON VII. 19^

ftant revolutions are performed , through lb many ages, without any miftake or failure, without any diforder or impediment to each other, notvvithdanding their vafl: bulk , and prodigious fwifrnefs ; can we doubt, whether they be contrived, governed and direded, by a mofl excellent and divine Realon ? And as this will naturally excite our admiration of that Supreme Being, whofe power and wif- dom manages all things; fo, in realon, it ought to create in us the highcft veneration for him and the ftrongeft fenfe of gratitude towards him , when, we are made parta- kers of fo much good from thefe works of his. It is therefore with good rcafon, that the Apoftle ( here in the text ) lays fo great ftrefs upon this Argument from the fraiiic of the world; and declares thofe men, in the mere light of nature, inexcufablc, who, ha- ving fuch means of knowing God, yet did not glorify him as God , nor Ihewcd them- felves thankful to him ; becaufe , by their own confcdion , every part of the Creation, proclaims a wifdom and power in its Author, io much above all poffible produdlions of chance, that it infinitely exceeds, even the mofl: exalted human underfl:anding, perfcdiy o comprehend it. And by the like confcH]-

O 4 ouf,

200 SERMON VII.

on, ^ all the parts of the world are fo well C07tjiHiited^ that they could neither be more convenient for ufe y nor more beaut if til for Jhew^ than they are. And therefore fbme of them have owned, ' that he ought not to be counted for a man^ who is not moved to gratitude-, by the beautiful order ofthejiars, by the p leafing viciffitude of day and night , by the grateftl mixture and contemner at ion of the feafons^ and by all thofe things which are fo bountifully produced for our ufe and benefit. So that this argument, drawn from the order of the world, and the feveral parts of it, does, to the common appiehenfion of mankind, not merely prove the Being of a God, but likewife lliews, what kind of Being he is, by dcmonflrating thefe his principal Attributes of power, wifdom and goodncfs, which are the foundation of all natural Reli- gion ; the want or abufe of which, the Apoftle fo feverely charges upon the Heathen world

in

h —Quod fi omnes mundi partes ita conftitutae funt ut neque ad ufum raeliores potuerint effe, neque ad fpeciem piil- chriores, videamus utrum ea fortuita lint, &c. C;V, de Nat. D. I. -L. caf,. 34.

' Quern verb aftrorum ordines, quern dierum nodimnq; viciffitudines, quem menfium temperatio, quemque ea quae gignuntur nobis ad fruendum, non gratum efiecogant, hunc hominem omnino nuraerare qui decet ? Cic de Legg. I. 2.

SERMON VII. 20I

in this chapter. And the due improvement of this Argument, is a proper employment for the minds of all fpeculativc men, who are in- quifitive into the works of Nature, which are a fubjedt that will never be exhaufted, but the more they are learched into , the greater matter they will always gradually afford for admiration and praife, of the infinite perfecti- ons of their Author.

But becaufe my intended method will not allow me to purfue this Argument at large, through all the feveral branches of it, there being no part of the Creation which does not, when viewed in a proper light, afford ample matter for the proof and iliuftration of a Di- vine wifdom prefiding over it : and becauie there are already, many excellent treatifes up- on this fubjed, made by perlbns of great abi- lity in natural and experimental knowledge, which, no doubt, will be conftantly encreaf- ing; I iliall, at prefcnt, chule to mention on- ly ibme fiich general confiderations, as may be mod eafily applied to thole obfervations, which almoft any man of common capacity, with a moderate attention , may make fpr himfelf

Now if we confider, either the flupend- ous Magnitude and extent of the whole Crea- tion :

202 SERMON VII.

tion ; or the prodigious Number and variety of creatures contained in it ; or the exqui- fite Minutenefs of the feveral parts of which they confift; or the Beauty, order and regu- larity, of every diitind; fpecies ; or the Har- monious correipondence of each part of na- ture to the other, even in the inanimate part of the world ; or if we contemplate the Cu- rious ftrudure of fo many vaftly different forts of animals, and how exactly they are all fitted to their feveral flates and conditi- ons of life, and what provifion is made for the prefervation and continuance of their le- veral kinds : or , laftly, if we confider Man, the principal inhabitant of this vifible part of the world, which falls moft within our no- tice, we fliall evidently perceive fiich mani- fcft tokens of infinite power, wildom and goodnefs, as cannot be afcribed to any thing but a Providence, or mind, infinitely perfect in all thefe Attributes.

I. If we confider the amazing Magnitude and extent of the whole Creation, it gives us a notion of power incomprehenfible, in the produdion and prefervation of it. We can- not lay indeed, that the creation is, properly and ftridly fpeaking, infinite, or without all poflible bounds, but only that the limits of it

are

SERMON VIL 203

are to us, or perhaps to any created mind, unfearchable. Its extent is beyond all the power of fight which we have or can have from the alTiftance of the bed Telefcopes. The diftance from the Earth to the Sun is prodigioufly greater than perhaps any man, who is not fomething acquainted with Aftro- nomical Speculations, would eafily conceive \ And yet, how vaft foever this diftance is, it is very inconfiderable in comparifon of the diftance from the fix'd Stars, which are vifible to our naked eye ; and yet more fb in com- parilbn of thoie which are fo remote as not to be feen without the beft glaffes : and how ma- ny niore there may be, which by reafon of their vaftly greater diftance are invifible, we cannot guefs, though we have rcaibn to be- lieve them to be an inconceivable number. And thefe being all fuppofed like Suns, to fo many feveral lyftems of other Planets attend- ing them, muft require llich an immenle Ipace, for their leveral revolutions, without inter- fering with one another, as is almoft beyond all human conception to imagine. And then 2 . If we confider the prodigious Number

and

k Being according to the mojl exa£l calculatio7i,z\6oc) femi- diameters of the Earth, i. e, ahove 86 Millions of Englift* Miles. 86,051,398. Dahim' s Jjiro-Theoloiy.

204- SERMON Vll.

and Variety of creatures contained in this im- meufe fpace, it ihevvs a wifdom and contri- vance equal to that infinite power which pro- duced them. If we view oniy this Earth, with which we are befl: acquainted, as having the nearefl: means of knowing it, which is but a point, as it were, in comparifbn of the Uni- verfe, what an amazing variety does it afford us ? Under the earth , how many kinds of foffils, ftones, gems, minerals, metals ? Up- on the furface, what an incredible number of vegetables, trees, plants, ilirubs, grafTcs, with their fevcral diftind: feeds, leaves, flowers and fruits ? Upon the Earth, in the Water, and in the Air, how many thoufand forts, or tribes, of Animals of different bulk and figure, beads, reptjls, birds and infeds ? And if the various kinds are fo many, how numberleis are the individuals of each kind ? It might alfo be obferved, that there is a wonderful variety a- inong the individuals themfelves of the fame fpecies. Even in feveral nations of mankind only there is luch an incredible diverfity, as to colour, ftature, language, and the like, as made even ^ Tliny himfelf fay, that the

power

' Naturae vero rerum vis atque majelhs in omnibus mo- niventis fide caret ; li quis modb partes ejus ac non totani compledatur Ammo. Plm. Nat. Hijl. lib. 7. cap. i.

SERMON VII. 205

^O'-jjer and majefiy of nature^ in every par- ticular inflanccy is beyond all belief to a man that conjlders only fome parts^ and has not a view of the whole in his mind. And a little after, he inftanccs in that "^ inimitable variety in the faces of men, of which not one of fo many thoufands is fo like another as not to be cafily diftinguilh'd. If we ex- rend our views and thoughts farther, andcon- fider, that the number of fix'd Stars, Special- ly fmce the improvement of Telefcopes, is not fo much as pretended to be gueffed at ; and that the Planets about them may be re- plenillied with creatures, both animate and inanimate, as different in kind, as they are diflant in place, from thofe with which we are acquainted, is very probable ; and there may be as many more kinds of them, and as m.any more individuals of each kind as the places they are lodged in will contain : What an aftonilliing multiphcation of their numbers and variety will this then amount to ? 'Tis here the excels of power and wildom, fo in- finitely beyond our capacity, and not the

want

"> Jam in facie vultiique iioilro, ciim fmt decern, aut piiilo pluia membra, nuIK\s duas in tot millibus hominum indifcretns eftig'es exiilere : quod ars nulla in paucis niimcio pia.;let aftcut.uuio.

2o6 SERMON VII.

want of it, which dazzles our underftanding; as the exceflive light of the fun bhnds our eyes. But

3. On the other hand, if we pry into the cxquifice Minutenefs of the feveral parts of which each diftind: creature, either animate or inanimate, is corapoled, this will ftill heigh- ten our admiration of the infinite skill of the Artificer, who framed them. There are mil- lions of entire and perfed: animals, endued with hfe and morion, fb very fmall, that they cannot eafily be difcerned by the naked eye; which yet, by the help of Microfcopes, arc dilcovered to have their feveral organical parts as curioufly framed, and fitted to their feveral motions and ules, as thole of a much larger fize: and how fui-prizingly fmall mud thofe parts be, fmgly taken, when a compounded body, made up offo great a number, is hard- ly big enough to be vifible ? The like may be faid for the fine texture of the minute parts of larger animals, and even of plants and all other diftind: kinds of vegetables, of which the fitH ftamma are fo fmall, as to be imperceptible to our unafTifted fcnfcs. And even the more fimple and leemingly lels com- pounded bodies, of how infinitely fmall par- ticles do they confift ? Who can by his fenfes

difcover

SERMON VII. 207

difcovcr the figure of the conftitucnt parts of fluids, which yet are not ib clofcly united, but that there is much vacuity between them ? Who can difcern the texture of the parts of Water, which makes it fo difficult to be com- preffcd by any human force ? Or, who ever iaw the figure of the particles of air or wind ? which though comprefTible, yet how great is their force of refiftance ? So that the m'mima natune are as much beyond our capacities to difcover, as the magnitude of the Univerie. What an infinite Wifdom then muft it be, how intenfe, as well as extenfive, which at once lb intimately reaches, and ^o accurately ma- nages both thele extremes ? For,

4. If we confider the Beauty, order and re- gularity of every diftin<3: fpecies of things , the accuracy of the Divine Artificer will ftili farther appear. Though the number of his works be fo incomprehenfibly great, and their, kinds fo various, yet each of them fiugly is direded, performed and finifhed, with as much skill and exadnefs, as if it were the only thing attended to. Every one of the particulars is wrought with more art and curiofity than any human Artift, though he were to fpcnd all his time and pains upon it, can attain to imi- tate. What our bldTed Saviour fays of the

flowers

2o8 SERMON VII.

flowers of the field, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of thefe^ is no hyperbolical expreflion. The moft cu- rious polilliiog, gilding or painting of human art, cannot vye with that of fome fmall in- fers, feeds and flowers. An excellent Au- thor, well skilled in thefe matters, has told us, that " the objervations which have been made in thefe latter times ^ by the help of the Microfcope , difcover a vaft differ e7ice between natttral and artificial things. What- ever is natural and beheld through that^ ap- - pears exqnifitely formed and adorned with all imaginable elegancy and beauty. There , are fitch illimitable gildings and embroide- ries in the fmalk ft feeds of plants^ but efpe- dally in the parts of anitnals.^ in the head or eye of a fmall fly \ fiich accuracy^ order and Jymmetry in the frame of the moft mi- nute creatures, a loufe , for example, or a mite, as no yuan were able to conceive with- out feeing of them. Whereas the moft cu- rious works of art , the ftoarpeft , fineft , needle doth appear as a blunt rough bar of iron coming from the furnace or the forge. The moft accurate engravings, or embojfments

feem

n 3^. Wilkins of Nar. Rel, lib. i. ch, 6.

SERMON VII. 20;^

feem Jiich rtide, bungling^ deformed works\ as if they had been done by a jnattock or a tro'-^el. So vaft a difference is there be- twixt the skill , of Nature and the rttdenefs and imperfe^ion of ^rt. Nor is the order, regularicy and propbrtio'n, conftantly obfcr- ved in the feveral parrs of the viiible creation, lefs to be admired than the beauty and ele- gance of each of them. That ib many de- grees of creatures, animate and inanimate, ihould be always conftantly kept in their pro- per rank, fo that they appear to be the fame through all generations, notwithftanding eve- ry thing is in Ibme fort of perpetual motion, is utterly repugnant to the nature of Chance; and miift argue a wife DirecStor, that orders all things in number, weight and meafure. Again, • . , .. . '

f. The Harmonious Cbrreipondence of each part of Nature to other, ihews a com- prehenfive VVifdom, that has one entire view of all things at once, liich a skill as has no occafion to mend or new model one part of its work, to make it fit for another; but which makes both great and fmall parrs an- fwer one another io exadtly, that notwith- ftanding all the multifarious motions, and di- rections of motion, in the world, there is no'

P difordcj:

2IO SERMON Vil.

diforder or didurbance created thereby in the whole; but every parr, and every motion of that part, is as well preferved, as if all the reft had been particularly defigned for that on- ly. And though we can never be able to difcover all the ules and defigns, for which every particular part of the creation was made or to which it ferves ; yet from what we can dilcover, we may realbnably conclude^ that every part has its ufe in the whole, and that every thing is wifely fuited to fome excellent purpofe or other, though we cannot find it out. An unskilful man, that tranfiently looks upon fome curious engine, confifting of many fine parts and intricate motions of great va- riety 5 cannot readily difcern to what ufe e- very particular wheel or pin ferves ; yet if he fees the general ufe of the whole, he would be efteemed a fool indeed, if he ihould im- mediately conclude, that this or that part had no ufe at all, becaufe he could not prefently difcover to what end it ferved. So for us to pretend, to know all the ufes for which ever« particular part of the creation was made, or to which it may be applied, is great arrogance^ proceeding from want of experience : to think they were defigned for no ule, is a weaknefs eafily confuted by thofe wjio have

more',

SERMON VII. 211

more skill : and to deny that things were de- figned for thofe ufes^ to which we fee them always conftantly anfweri is as manifeftly un- reafonable, and argues very narrow concep- tions of the Divine Knowledge and De/iga; as if he could not intend things for the ufes we do know, becauic he defigned them for more than we know: for this muft be the refuk of their reafonings, who forbid us to take notice of, or enquire after, final Caufes, But many relations and correfpondences of things we can evidently fee, being more near- ly concerned in them^ and confequently may know fome of their obvious and man ifefl ufes for which they were made. As for inflianceji We can perceive a manifeft firncfs in the or- gans of fenfation, of every animal, to thole objects with which it has occafion to con- verie, and to the medium^ through which it is to perceive them, in fuch a manner as con- duces moft to its prefervation. Thus the eye, and vifible obje^fs, and light y by which thofe bbjecSbs are feen, have fuch a mutual refped: to each other, that, \^ any one were want- ing, the other would be imperfcd; or ufelels. And the like may be faid of the ear and founds^ and the undulation of air by which thole founds are conveyed. And lb for the P % other

2 12 SERMON VII.

other fcnfes and their rcfpcdlive objecSts. And thus in every part of nature which we hive any tolerable acquaintance withal ; even froai the vail heavenly bodies, as the Sun, Moon and Planets, do\^n to the fmallefl: inre(51: upon Our earth, we may obferve one thing luited to another, with the mofl: exad: congruity: So that we may fay , All Nature is but one mighty work of one Almight)^ and All-wife Archited:.

But then that there is a Goodncfs, as well as wildom and power, Ihewn in the forma- tion of all things, does more evidently ap- pear from the Animal and Rational Part of the world, from thole things which, being endued with fenfation, are thereby capable of pleafur^ and farisfa6tion ; as all the creatures, which have animal life, are in fome degree : for they all rejoyce in and are well pieafed with their being. And therefore,-

6. If we contemplate the curious ftrud:ure of fo many different fpecics of Animals, and obierve how exadtly they are all fitted in their very outward make and figure, as well as in- ward difpofitions and inftin6ls, to their fcve- ral refped:ive ftates and conditions of life ; and what fuitable provifion is made for their fatisfadion, as well as for the prefervation,

conri-

SERMON VII. 213

continuance and propagation of their feveral kinds, we cannot cafily forbear to admire the Bounty as wci! as Wiidom of Providence ap- pearing therein. I do not here dcflgn to en- ter upon an exadt defcriprionj either of the various kinds of Animals, or the particular ftrudure of all the feveral p^rts of any one animal, or fo much as to flievv the exquifitq formation of any particular parr, mqch lei's all the Ibvcral ufes to which fuch parts arc made to ferve : Such particular defcriptions of things require a long difcourfe, and are much better apprehended by ocular infpedtion, thaa by any difcourfe whatever which can be made without it. I can only hint at a few pf thofe things which are obvious and ealy rp be ob- ferved, but not to be accounted for without a iupcrintending Providence. Such, for in- (lance, is the diftinc^tion of Sexes in all Ani- mals (that being the means by which the fpe- cics is continued) and the due proportion of Xhe nuipbersofeach fex to the other, which has been conflantly kept from the begiitning. This quite deftroys all fuppofition of Ipontaneous, or a^quivocal generation, even in IciTcr Ani- mals, and (hews the ablurdity of imagining, that any real animal, and elpecially mankind, could ever be produced by Chance, or a ca- P 3 fual

214 -SERMON VII.

fual motion and conconrfe of atoms of which they confifl. For not to infill: upon the ex- quifite formation of all the internal as well as external parts of each Animal, in which we cannot oblcrve any thing either fuperfluousor deficient; how is it poffible, if they had fprung up out of the earth like muflirooms, that fo nice a proportion of Sexes fliould be kept in their firfl produdbion, and that they fliould by natural inilin6l know, that they were mutually defigned for each other, and that the fucceeding generations were to be pro- duced in a way io very different from the firft ? Such again is the mighty care which Animals have of their young, both to feed and defend them, till they are able to ihifc for themfelves ; The ftrange different natural in- llincSts of various creatures, and yet, in all of the fame fpecies, conflantjy the fame; each Animal knowing and providing its proper food and fhunning what is improper : The natural ienfe which every creature has of its own proper weapon of defence, and the way of ufing it without teaching, as well as of the enemies it is to fecure itfelf ngainft : The won- derful fagacity, diligence and application of fome crea' ures : The admirable art and con- trivance of fome, even very fmall animals, in

forming

I

SERMON VII. 215

forming their own places of habitation or fe- Gurity with the greateft exadtnefs. Thefe things llievv, that though they do not diredl themfelves, yet they are diredled by a con- ftant and unerring wifdom. Again, if we confider the convenient ftrud:ure and apt dif- pofition of the feveral parts of the different kinds of creatures, as Beads, Birds and Fiflies, how they are fitted to their feveral Elements, and the ways of living in them; fo that how /different fbever their bulk or figure be, yet "we cannot fay, but that each of them is moll: conveniently adapted to its own region, and to the procuring that food which it is to live upon, and to the providing that fecurity and defence which is moft proper for it ; this is an inftance of wildom and forefight condant- ly fuiting proper means to their reiJDCcStive ends.

To ufe the words of an excellent Author (Dr. BarrowJ upon this occafion : " Thus " much is palpably manifeft, that each of " thele fo many curious organs was defigned f' and fitted on purpofe to that chief uie or " operation we fee it to perform; This of ^' them, to continue the kind, that to preferve *? the mdivtduum : This to dilcern what is P ^ " neceffary

216 SEPvMON VII.

^' neceffary, convenient or pWafant to the *' creature, or what is dangerous, ofTenfive, or " deftruftive thereto, that to purioe or em- ^' brace, to dccHnc or Ihun it: This to en- *' joy what is procured of good, that to rc- " move what is hurtful or ulelels, or to guard *' from raifchief or injury. That each one *' is furniHied with apt inftruments fuitable to *' its particular needs, appetites, capacities, (la- " tions, is mod apparent. Whence could all this *^ proceed ? Whence came all thcfe parts to *' be fo failiioned and fuited, all of them (6 ** ncce/Tary, or fo convenient, that none, with- " out the imperfedion and the prejudice of *^ the creature, fome noi: without its deftru- *' (Stion, can be \vanti02; ? Who iliaped and " tempered thofe hidden fubtle fprings of hie, '^ fenfe, imagination, memory, paffion ? Who " imprefled on them a motion fo regular and " fo durable, which through fo tmany years, " among fo many adverfe contingencies af- '■' failing it, is yet lo fteadily maintained? " Can this proceed from giddy Chance or

« blind NecefTity ? " And again, " All

" that gr.ice and beauty, which fo delights "our fenfe beholding it, all that correipoa- ^^ dence and fymmetry which fo fatisfics our

' " mind

SERMON VII. 217

" mind confidcring it, all that virtue and e- *' ncrgy extending ro performances fo great *' and admirable, mud they be alcribed to " caufcs of no worth , and fuppofed done to *' no purpoie ?

I might firthcr take notice more particu- larly of the exquifite formation and difpofi- tion of the feveral organs of fcnlation, as the eye, the ear, and the reft, and with what wonderful contrivance and nicety they are adapted in every creature , to their proper budncfs and manner of life : And though they are fo ctirious and of fo fine a ftrudlurc, yet how well they are guarded againft any thing that may hurt or annoy them. But I forbear to infifl: upon theie things, both be- taufe they have been often handled j in di- ftind: Treatifes upon them , to more advan- tage ; and becaule the whole animal oecono- my is fo apparently the work of wildom and deilgn, that hardly any one has been wxll acquainted with it, though in other refped:s not very forward in owning any fentiments of Religion, but has yet, by the irre- fiftible evidence of the thing, been brought to confefs a wife contrivance in it ; as ^ri- ftotle, ^lifiyy Galen and others, among the ancients ; and divers others of later times.

2i8 SERMON VII.

° Arijlotle not only conftantly affirms it as an axiom, that Nature [and fometimes thvic God and Nature] does nothing in vain, or without reafon and dcfign ; and that all natu- ral things P are done for fome end ; and that ^ Nature always does the befl that ispodible, in as conftant a manner as Art : ib that if there be any evidence of defign in things arti- ficial, there is the fame in things natural, the end and means in each being manifeftly fuited to one another : but in the introdudlion to hisTreatife, of the parts of Animals^ he af- ferts, ' that there is more of defign and beau- ty (or good) in the works ofnattire^ than in the works of art : and indeed, he every where lays great ftrefs upon final caufes, which of necefTity fnppofe a wife Agent : ^ This, he

fays,

o 'o T ©£05 }^ v! <pva-Hi iioti (j.u,tIuj sroiisTt^, Arifi. de caclo. lib, I. cap. 4. 'H ^e tpVTii Qitv dXoyaq ii^i (jloltIm^ -sroiH. ib. lib. 1 . cap. 1 1 .

^ ttcx.u, Ts. Lib. 3. De Anima. cap. 12..

9 *£< «v T« yj^ Ti-^iluu 'tiiy-at, ra, dvjXo^oTi 1^ r» k^ <pvo-ty, 0-

Tas I's-Egjs ar£9? rx v^re^. Jirift. Phyfic. lib. z. cap.%. where he has much more to this purpofe, very zvell worth obferving.

*■ Ml5/!^oy ^' sV* TV s 'ivey,x >^ to xaAsv cv tojj -^ <pv<reai<i B^yoii, ^ cv roii 4 T£%v;)?. De partib. Anitn. lib. r. cap. i.

^ M.xXirct 5 ^«V£gjv iVi T l^mui T x>^ay, a, aVf rexy» *'''£

^ITr.crxv'jx

SERMON VII. 219

fays, is manifeji in thofe animals^ isjhich work neither by art^ nor enquiry^ or learn- ings nor upon deliberation: 'which makes fome doubt ^ whether it be not by a mind or underftandirig, that fpiders and other infeBs work'^ but if we proceed a little fart her ^ there is the fame appearance of final caufes, or a tendency towards an end^ or dcfign^ e- vejt in plants ; as that the leaves are made for the covering of the fruit. Sec.

•^ ^liny in mod cafes goes upon Epicurean principles; and llievvs no fuch fenfe of the fundamental principles of Religion, 2,s Arifto- tie does, and yet even he cannot forbear a(f miring the wonderful Art and Contrivance of nature, even in the fraallefl: animals; and he inftances particularly in the body of a gnat , which yet, he truly owns, is not the leaft of

any

.*! Tht u^eu i^ya^oira* oi re x^^veu y^ oi in.v^f^>tx,ei Ki Tec Tticio-

T», kJ f^'.KO^V d' ifTO) -w^'iOlllt >^ OV Tolc, (^VToli (pXifSTOli TO. VVU/pS"

^vTa yifvof^evx wg^? t» tsA^, «ia» rcc Ov^x itixx t?'? x.kpv2. TKe?rt)f, Z^C. tpVTiK. XK^cCT. lie. 2. cap. o,

t ---Nufquam alibi fpedatiore natura: rerun; artificio. Pli». H. Nat. I. xi. cap. 1,2.

In his tarn parvis tamque nullis quze ratio, quanta vis, quam inextricabilis perfeftio ? Ubi tot fenfiis coJlocavit in culice, & funt alia didu minora, &cc. Plm. ib.

---Cum rerum natura nufquam magis quam in minimis to- ta fir.

220 SERMON VII.

any, the exquifire formation of which he de- jcribes with wonderful elegance.

Galen in his book T)e ufu Tartium^ hath fuch remarkable obfcrvations to this purpofe, that moft of thofc, who have treated upon this fubje^t, have taken notice of them, as being full of exprcffions, acknowledging not only a wonderful wifdom and power, but goodneis alfo, manif:ll: in the contrivance of the Animal ftrudture : Even ^ Mr. Hobbes him- felf, who is never fufpedted of having too ele- • Vated or noble thoughts of Providence, yet confefles, that thofe who throughly confider all the curioufly contrived organs of genera- tion and nutrition, and can think they were not ordered and defigned to their feveral ends and offices by an underftanding mind , ought to be look'd on , as perfons void of all mind and underftanding themfelves.

Now as curious as all this Animal (Irudlure is, and as capable as it is of receiving grate- ful fenfations, by the excjuifite make of fo many different organs, fo there is a like varie- ty of provifion made iti nature, to latisfy eve- ry one of them, in a way fuitablc to its capa- city ; inafmuch as all the inanimate part of the

▼ Hobbes De Homme, cap. i.

Creation

SERMON VII. 221

Creation, is fitted to minifler to the prefcrva- rion, iatistadlion and delight, of the animate; there being no living creature fb contempti- ble, but what has ample provifion made for it. Even all the fenles of Animals have pro- vifion made for their grateful entertainment, and to all fuch diflances as thoic fenles will reach. Can the eye be gratified with feeing, and is there not provided an infinite variety of colours and figures, of leaves, flowers and fruits, of great beauty and delight fo be fcen, and Light, a pleafant medium, to fee them by ? And to man^ efpecially, the heavenly bodies, at a prodigious diftance, aflbrd a very enter- raining prolpedt. And is there not a proper provifion made like wile for the ear, in that in- finite variety of founds, with which nature a- bounds ? And fo for all the fenfes, to Ibme or other of which, almofi: every thing is contrived to minifter Ibmething of comfort and delight. And on the contrary, how few are the things, and how eafily avoided, that are greatly un- grateful to any one of them ? no more than what may feem defigned on purpofe , to let o(f thoie that are grateful to more advantage, and to give us a more lenfible relifli of them. *' So many, fb plain, and fb exadly congru- " ous, (fays the forenamcd Author) are the

« rela-

222 SERMON Vli

" relations of things here about us to each <' other, which furely could not otherwife " come, than from one admirable Wifdom *' and Power , confpiring thus to adapt and '' conned: them together ; as alfo from an e- " qual Goodnefs, declared in all thefe things, " being fquared fo fitly for mutual benefit and " convenience."

Methinks, when a man confiders this feri- oully, (and it well becomes every man to con- fider it) he can hardly forbear breaking out in language like that of the Pfalmift, "^ O Lord^ how manifold are thy works ? in wif- dom haft thou made them all, the earth is full of thy riches^ &c.

7. Laftly, If we confider Man, the princi- pal inhabitant of this lower world, with whom we have mod opportunity of being acquaint- ed, our notions of thefe Attributes of God muft needs be more ftrongly imprefTed upon us ; the evidence for them being, as it were, brought home to our lelves. And whatever has been hitherto hinted at^ either of the cu- rious (Irudture of the bodies of other animals,- or of the provifion made to preferve and fup- port them, or to pleafe and gratify their natu- ral

>^ Pfal. 104. f, 1'4,.

SERMON VII. 253

ral fcnfarions, is ycc more eminently to be bbibrvcd in man, to whom Providence has been bountiful in an higher degree, as having manifcflly defigncd hira for nobler purpofcs: and has accordingly diftinguiflied him in figure from the reft of the creatures, all of which he has, in fome mcafurc, made fubfervient to him : In fo much, that even '' Tliny himfelf owns, that nature feems to have produced all other things for his fake ; though he com- plains at the fame time, as many other Athe- iftical perfbns have both before and faice done, of her being a cruel Step-mother to him, in that he is not fo immediately provide ed, with the conveniences of food and cloth- ing of his own, as other creatures are. But this complaint is both ungrateful and abfurd ; ^tis as if a prince or a governor of a city ihould complain, that he has not time to drels his ow'n meat, or make his own ilioes. 'Tis indeed true, that man is not by nature fo im- mediately, and without his own induftry, pro- vided with food and clothing of his own, as fome other creatures are : but this is no ^t~ fed: in the goodnefs of Providence towards him; becaule he has Reafon given hira, tofup-

p|y

X l^incipium jure tilbuetur homini, cujus ciusa videtur cun«f\a alia genuilFe natura. ?l\n' N. Hijl. l.i.in froxm'to.

224 SERMON VII.

ply himfelf iiiiiich a way as he likes bed, and ability to make a more ample uie of all things, than the reft of the creatures can ; io that he has a power, of making almoft every thing in nature minider to his neceflity, conveni- ence or delight. For how plentifully is he provided, both from the earth, the air and the fea, with great variety, for the iuppprt even of his animal life ? Many of the creatures, which are much greater, and Wronger, and fwifter than he, yet own a plain lubmi/Tion to him ; io that he can ufe rhem both to eaie his own labour, and iatisfy his neceffity, and to furniih him with many kinds of pleafurc arid delight. Of this I might fay much more, to fliew what a convenient reference all this part of the creation has to man : by which I do not mean, that nothing has any other de- figned ufe, but what man makes of it: for it would be a diminution to the infinite wifdora of Pi'ovidence, to fuppofc that vv^e fee all the uies to which every thing is defigned ; but that things are contrived, with as much wifdom and goodnefs towards man, and as aptly luit- ed to him , as if he had been the creature principally defigned to be taken care of: and nothing can hinder us from thinking fo, but man's unworrhinefs of iuch infinite care and goodnefs towards him. But

SERMON VII. 225

But I intend not fo much to confider Man, in relped: of his Body and outward Conditi- on, whereby he is related to the material world, as in relpe<5l of his Mind and Reafon^ by which he is made capable of judging about the reft of the Creation , and refleding upon himfclf And of this, together with the ufes that ought to be made, both of this and the foregoing Confiderarions, I intend to fpeak farther in my nejtt Difeourfe,

Q. SERMON

SERMON VIII.

Preached November the 4''' 17 17.

■A- «|t ^t (^ il* ^ tj* i^ ^^ 4^ '^ *^ ■'f 4^ 4^ 4'' 4^ ^^ '^ 4^ ^ *^ ■'^ ■'f *^ ^ ''f ■'^ 4'' ^ ■'f ■'f 4^ 4^

Rom. i. 19, 20, II.

"Becaufe that which may he known of Qod IS maniftfl m ihcmy for God hath fhewed it unto them:

For the hwtfible things of him, from the creation of the world ^ are clearly feen ^ being under flood by the things that are made ^ even his eternal Pow^ er and Godhead -^ fo that they are^ without excufe :

Becaufe that ivhen they knew God^ they

228 SERMON VIIL

glorified him not as God ^ neither were thankful^ Sec.

JN my lad Difcourle upon this Sub- jed:, I propofed to confider, that which I laid down as rhc Third fe^MiJ ground of the univerfal behef of the Being of a God and a Providence , in all ages and nations, viz. The common princi- ples of Reafon deducing this perfuafi^r;, as a plain and neceffary confequence or conclufi- on, from the oblervation of rhofe vifibie ef- fed:s of Power, Wifdom and Goodnefs, in the frame of the world, which are obvious to eve- ry confidcrate man. For though this, as I then obferved, be not the thing, from which the generality of mankind draw their firft no- tions of a Deity, yet it is certainly that, by which, when they come to the more free and exrenfive ufe of their reafon, thofe notions are- both mod evidently confirmed, and moft ufe- fully improved, in them. For which reafon, the Apoftle, here in the Text, fcems chiefly to point at this as an unexceptionable ground of Pvcligion, common to all men; being what e/en the Gentile philofophers tbemlelves, who f lioufly enquired into the nature of things, bad frequently infifled on as good evidence ;

aad

SERMON VIII. 225

and therefore could not reafonably rcfufe, to admit the juft and neceffary confequenccs which might be drawn from it.

Some manifefl: inftanccs of an incomprehen- fible Power, Wifdom and Goodncis, exerting it felf in all the works of nature, I have alrea- dy touched upon , though but briefly ; be- caufe, confidering the immenfe variety of the fubjed", which has been more copioufly hand- led by others, both ancients and moderns, my defigned method would allow me, only to point at fuch apparent tokens of an Almighty^ IntelHgent, and Beneficent Being, prcfiJing over all things, as no man of common under- ftandiug, with any tolerable degree of diligence or obfervation, can eafily avoid taking notice of: Such as the amazing magnitude of the whole Creation ; the prodigious number and variety of Creatures contained in this immenfe fpacc; the exquifite minutenefs of the leveral parts, of which each diflincjt creature, either ani- mate or inanimate, is compofed ; the beauty, order and regularity of every difl;in(5t fpecies of things ; the harmonious correlpondcnce cf each part of nature to other ; and more par- ticularly, the curious ftru(5ture of lb many dif- ferent fpecies of animals ; the exquifite for- mation of their parts, and the nice adapting

0.3 oi

230 SERMON VIII.

of them to their feveral ufes; fo that there is nothing either of faperfluity or defed:, but every thing properly tending to the prefer- vation , continuance and propagation of the feveral kinds, through all generations ; with a fuitable provifion tor all their natural wants and defires, fo that they can and do all rejoyce in their beings ; which fliews a goodnefs an- fvverable to the power and wifdom of the Au- thor of their being. I was in the lad place, Gonfidering Man, the principal inhabitant pf this lower part of the world, with whom we have the beil opportunity of being moft inti- mately acquainted; and in whom, if we were to confider only the vifiblc relation which he flands in to this material world about hira, "we mieht fee an infinite wifdom and eoodnels continually taking care of him: So that, not- vvithftanding the ancientobjed:ion ofthe£/i- cureans and others, that he is neither fed, nor clothed, nor armed^ by nature, in the fame ready manner that fome other creatures are ; yet he has abundantly more , and better ufe of all thefe conveniences, than thofe very creatures which are born with them ; and by virtue of his natural realbn and luperiority o- ver the other creatures, can eafily fupply himfeif, by their means, with whatever he

vvants^

SERMON VIII 231

wants, in great abundance. Is not the labour of building, and fowing, and planting, and ail other manual operations, in which we are alio greatly fcrvcd, and much of our pains eafed, by the other creatures, abundantly recompen- fed by a more commodious way of dwelling, and a more plentiful variety of food and cloth- ing, procured for us, in a way fiiitablc to our fuperiority over thofe creatures ; and by the exercife of thofe powers, in which by nature we do excel them. So that what complaints fbever , fome rafli and unthinking men may make, of the difadvantages mankind ly under, compared with other creatures, yet, I believe, no man in his wits would deliberately change his condition with any of thofe brutes, whole happincfs he would Ibmcrimes be thought ib much to envy. A man that ferioufly and im- partially confiders this matter, would wonder to find, that fo ftupid, as well as ungrateful a complaint, could ever proceed from men, in other refped:s of good difccrnment, fuch as Tlhiy and Ibme others. I mention ^ //';/)' par- ticularly, becaufe (both by his works, and by the account which his nephew gives of him, //^. 3. ej?iji. 5.) he appears to have been a man very ftudious, and of great induQry, and not much addided to any mere fcnfual plpa-

Q^ 4 lure ;

232 SERMON VIII.

furc; and by confequence, one who might have known how to diftinguifli better, be- tween the value of thofe rational entertain- ments, which are by nature fo eminently pro- vided for man above other creatures, and thole conveniences of mere animal life; which though brutes have without their own care , yet every man may have, in more abundance, by the exercife of fuch a care , as is rather pleafant than uneafy to his reafon; which makes fuch a complaint the more unaccounta- ble in him, if it were not, that where men quit the fenfe of Providence, their reafon alfo of- ten forfakes them. But as for thole who are fa far funk into brutality, that they have no notion of any human happinels, but what confifts, either in the mere gratification of their outward lenles, or a perfed: inad:ivity ; fuch a complaint frdm them is, I confels, the iels to be wondered at. A perfed: idlenefs feems to be the darling principle of the Epi- cureans ^ upon which they deny all provi- dence, becaufe, according to theifi, no being can be happy that has any thing to do ' . But zsTully, in the perfon oiCotta^ juftly ob-

ferves,

» Nifi quietum nihil beatum Aniy Nos autem bea-

♦am vuam in animi lecuritate & in omnium vacatione mu-

nerum

SERMON VIII. 233

ferves, fuch kind of argument ^ not only de- Jiroys the activity of the divine nature, but PS the ready way to make men idle, and good for nothing ^. And unlels it be upon this Idle principle, no man can juftly complain , that nature has made better provifion for other creatures than Ihe has for man, even in relpe(3: of the mere animal life.

But my defign was not fo much to confider man, in relped: of his bodily conveniences, and that outward condition, whereby he is related to the material world, as in reiped: of his mind and reafon; whereby he isjnad^^ ca- pable of judging about the reft of the Creati- on, and of reflecting upon himiejf and his own actions , and confidering what his own nature is in its bcfl: capacity, and whether there be any powers above him, to which he may be likewiie related. However, by the way, it may not be improper to take notice of two or three obfervations, which arife from that Rank or order which man bears in the world, in refpedt of other creatures.

r. That

neruni ponimus. Ctc.de N.D lih.i. cap. zo. And again, cap. 3^. Profedto Epicurus, quaii pucri dclicati, niliil ci^lTatione me- lius exiftimat.

•» Hxc oratio non modo Deos fpoliat motu &: adlione divina, led etiam homines inertes efficit, il quidem agens ali- quid, ne Deus quidem efle beatus potcft. ib. cap. 37.

234- SERMON VIII.

I. That there is a manifeft fubordination of one thing to another, or different degrees of perfe6lion in the feveral ranks of creatures one above another, till we come to mankind: from whence men have been taught, by the mere light of nature, to conclude, that there is fomething in man more excellent and valu- able than in them, which gives him a natural dominion over them ; and iignifies, that they were made for his ufe, and defigned to ferve him. This is not merely a notion of the Stoics^ though they infift much upon it , as may be feen from Ttilly and other writers ; but is, be- fore them, laid down by y^ri/^/'/^ % as an al- lowed principle, that Tlants 'were made for Animals^ and the other Animals for the fake of Man^ the tame ones both for tife and food, the wild ones ^ if not all yet, at leaf the greatefi part of them, for food and clothing, md other conveniences : and that therefore,

if

ftfV)) ■sri«c-<», uarreo k^ t •zs-^utujj yevio-iv iiu6vi , tiTu >c tiXh- tavHO-t.- ilj-f ouo.'«5 onXtv OTi i^ ysvofiLivoii olyireav, rei re

(pvra, T l^ium '(vex.f.v dyou, t^ to. tix^oc, ^ojct T ^vS^anraiv y^v,^t' toi

fiiirc «T«>.£? weiH jitijTf f^xTiu/, dvcify-diov t' d.y6^d>TFwi (v(*.a eajrtc ■zrictTet zs-i^cujKiVM r pvTtv. Arijlot, Pol'it, lib. I. cap. 8,

SERMON VIII. 235

if nature makes nothing imferfeB^ [or with- out an end] nor in vam, then Jhe muji have made all thcfe things for men.

X. It is obferved, that there is fbmcthing in the very outward flruiture of man, which ve- ry remarkably diftinguiilies him from the o- ther creatures below him ; and which, in the apprchenfion of fome perfons of great judg- ment and penetration, denotes his being chief- ly designed for the excrcife of his realbn and underllanding ; towards which, his ere6t po- flure of Body gives him a particular advan- tage. Upon which account, Ariftotle himfelf takes notice, x\\2X.^ of all animals^ man alone is of an upright pofture , becaufe his nature and e fence is di'Jtne : and the izjork or bu fi- ne fs of that which is mofl divine^ is under- ffanding and thinking ; but this work could not be fo eafily performed^ if there were a great bulk of body placed above ( or incum- bent upon) the leat of rcaibn and thinking, for weight makes the mind, and the common- feat offenfe or perception^ to be hardly mov- ed.

Ki'tu'lov TFotei T 2.l^io!:ii t^ T xotylvj Mo^-yjo-iv. AriJiOt. dc

partib. Animal. I: 4. cap. 10.

23^ SERMON VIIL

ed^ or to perform its funcflions with greater difficulty. I will not be anfwerable for the exadt Philofbphy of this reafon of Ariftotle's ; but however, it fhews his opinion, that the foul of man, or that part of him which rea- fons, and underftands, and thinks, is not mere body or matter, but fomething which moves and ad:uates the body to fuch a degree, and which is therefore of more value than the bo- dy, becaufe for the ufe and convenience of it the body it felf was made of fuch a particular figure and fituation of parts. Divers others of the ancients, (as ^ Balbus the Stoic in Tully exprefTes their fenfe) think the figure of the body thus dcfigned, that by a more commo- dious viewing the Heavens, men might more readily attain to the knowledge of God ; be- caule men were not made merely to dwell up- on the earth, but from thence to be Ipedtators of things above and in the Heavens, a fight

which

^ Qui (Deus) primum eos humo excitatos, celfos &

retftos conftituit, ut Deorum cognitionem, caelum intucnres, capere poflent. Sunt enim e terra homines non ut incola atquehabitatores, fed quail ipedatores fuperarum rerum atqu© caeleftium, quarum fpedaculum ad nullum aliud genus ani- jnantium pertinet. Ck. de N. D. lib. z. cap. 56.

Pronaque cum fpedlant animalia caetera terram,

Os homini fublime dedit caelumque tueri,

Juffit fic credos ad fidera tpUere vultus, erf. Ovid.

SERMON VIIL 237

which no other kind of animals is concerned wichil. Indeed, as to this reafon, it muft be owned, that if the mere abihty to view the Heavens, by the natural fituation of the eye, were all that is intended, there could not be much inferred from it, to the advantage of man above all other creatures, becaule there are many of them , whofe eyes are made as much, or more, to look upward, as thofe of man. But the pofuion of the eye in the head is not the only thing to be confidered , but the natural elevation of the head, above all the reft of the Body, whereby this ability to look upwards at pleafure, as well as any other way, is rcndcr'd more advantagious to man than to any other creature. This is that which makes the argument good, and in this general fenfe I prefiime their exprefTions ought to be taken. And therefore Socrates in Xenophofiy^ very juftly, as wxll as religioufly, makes it an inftance of the care of Provi- dence, that, among many other advantages, it hath given man this ere^ pojlure^ to enable

him

asre«« ^iwx^, J^ ret V7rf^6cv (A.ot,^oy 6eoi^, >^ 5}T7*y n.ax.»-<r{ic6eii.

Xtnoph. (tVe/ttyjjjk,.^ lib, I. cap. 4. $. xr.

r

238 SERMON VIII.

him to fee further before him^ and better to *uie,w the things above ^ and to be lefsfubje^i to injury: To which we may add, that ic enables him to ufe his hands to many excel- lent purpofes, both of animal and rational life, which he could not do if he had only feet inftead of them.

3. It may be farther obferved, that, of all vifible creatures, mankind alone has the bene- fit of Speech, or the power of comm.unica- ting his thoughts by articulate founds, framed and modelled according to his own difcretion. Other creatures have tongues, which ferve them for the fame animal ufes that the tongue of man ferves him for s. But this ufe of the tongue they have not, nor any other ability of making figniflcant founds, except only in fo low a degree as merely to fignify iome preffing natural appetite, or prefent pafllon of joy or grief^ refulting from immediate fenfa- tion of pleafure or pain. But in man, the Tongue and other organs of Ipeech, befldes their other ufes in animal life, are evidently defigued for the communication of reafon and

thought

Xeno^h . il. §. 11.

SERMON VIII. 23^

thought from one man to another, and io have a plain reference to an higher principle within, which is entirely diftind from mere animal life.

From thefe oblervations, and divers others of like fort, which might be added if it w^ere necefTary, which are frequently to be met with even in Heathen writers, I think we may very fairly draw this conclufion. That the fame wifdom, power and goodneis, which is fo manifeft in the vifible world, does likcwife extend itfelf to things invifible ; or that our Souls or minds, and whatever other luperior Beings there may be, are not leis the produ- ction of fome wife, and good, and powerful Being, than our bodies and the bodies of o- ther animals, or the things of an inferior de- gree. For fmce there is in nature a manifeft and regular fubordination of one thing to an- other, or a gradual progreflion from things perfed:ly inanimate to things that have vege- tative life, and from thence to animals of dif- ferent degrees of excellence, and from them to man ; and fmce there is in man an evident relation of his outward or bodily fabrick, to the ufe of fomething in him which realbns, and reflects and ufes the body, to many pur- pofcs, as. its inftrument, and iliews its own

Being

4

240 SERMON VIII

Being by performing vifible effeds upon the body, though itfelf be invifible ; and fince all thefe feveral ranks of things tend upwards^ and each of them, as it vvcrcj point at fome- thing above them, to which they own a fub- jecStion, at lead in point of -excellence ; it is but reafonable from thence to fuppofe, that man, which is of this compound nature, made up of fomething vifible and fbmething invi- fible, is, in relped of his Mind and Reafon, as much related to fomething above him, as he is, in refpcd" of his Body, related to the creatures below him. And confequcntly, whatever Being is the fountain or original of all that power, wifdom and goodnels which we admire in the world, it is a Being much more refembling the Soul or thinking parr, than the body or pafTive part of Man. All material things maniteftiy dilciaim any intel- ligence or thought of their own. They are ad:ed indeed and moved in a wife and regular manner, by defign and to fome purpole, but they do not ad: or move themfelves. Man has a power of ad:ing or moving himlelf and other things about him, to a certain degree and he perceives or is confcious that he has it. But yet withal he is confcious, that he him- lelf did not exift from eternity, and fo could

not

SERMON VIII. 241

iiot always have this power : And therefore he perceives, that he depends upon Ibme o- ther caufe for his Being, which did exift be- fore him. And thus whatever perfections or powers there are in the mind of man^ they were made or caufcd by a Being yet more perfed:, becaule antecedent to man and capable of communicating fuch powers and perfe- iSions as are in man, which man by experi- ence knows in himfclf he cannot communicate to any other being. And from hence by ne- ceffary reafoning we may conclude, that the firft caufe of all perfedion muft neceifarily be Eternal or Self exiflent, that is, it neither had nor podibly could have any fuperior or ante- cedent caule of its being.

But fmce this Self exiftent Being is (as I (aid before) much more refembled by the foul or invifible part of man, than by any thing out- ward or lenfible, its attributes or perfedtions will be more fully reprefented, and better un- derftood, by being compared with the corre- fpondent powers or perfections in the mind of man. Let us therefore briefly confider the human Mind or foul, with refped: to thofe attributes of Power, wifdom and goodnefs, the perfection of which we attribute to the Su- preme Being. And we ihall find in man not R merely

242 SERMON VIII

merely the effeds of them, luch as are diT- cernible in all the parts of Nature, as I have before fhewn, but likewife fome image or re- femblance of the attributes themfelves, or a capacity in the mind of man to exercife them in a limited degree. Thus for fnftance. The Mind or Soul of man has a power of adiua- ting the body, though not feen or felt in it ; of moving or not moving all or any part of it at plealure ; of determining its motion this •way or that way, without being firft moved or impelled by any outw^ard force, that is, a power of beginning motion of itfelf, which is indeed a true and real power, and fuch as matter is not capable of; a power of willing, chufing or adling freely, or without being adtcd uponby any external agent. I know, that thofc men who are unwilling to allow the Be- ing of any God, but the Univcrfe, or any jpiritual fubftance, or any thing dillin^l: from matter and motion, do likewile of conlc- quence deny this power of beginning motion, or what in other words is called Freewill, to be in man ; becaufe they lay there is always Ibme caufe or other, which antecedently de- termines him to chufe and ad this w^ay or that way : And by this they think a man is as necelfarily moved to ad;, as a Clock to

ftrike.

Sermon vm. 24.3

ftrikci though it may be by a longer chain of caufes, one depending upon another, lb that the impulfive caule cannot be lo immediately fecn. But here in this way of realbning they always either beg the queftion, that is, would firft have us take it for granted, that there is no other Being in the world but matter dif- ferently modified, which never adts but as it: is ad:ed upon, or elih they confound a Moral motive, or rational ground of a man's ading^ with a 'P/j^y7(r^?/ efficient caufe : So that an abdradcd rcafon inducing, and a bodily im- pulle forcing us to this or that, are with them taken for the fame thing, though they ard things as entirely diftindt as found and colour ; and one would think, that , as Dr. Bar^ row exDreffes it, No man is finely fi dull^ that he camiot perceive a huge difference be- tween being dragged by a violent hand, and drawn to a^ion by a Jtrong reafon ; although it may puzzle him to exp-efs that difference, I might add a great deal more concerning this felf moving, or feif determining power in the mind of man , which yet perhaps would be better underftood by a man's carefully con- fulting the operations of his own mind. But this matter has of late been let in lb clear a

R X lights

244 SERMON VIII.

light, by an excellent perfon,'' that I think there is no occafion at prelent for enlarging upon it.

z. As to Wifclom in the mind of man, we may obferve fever al excellent inftances. I need not mention fenfation or perception^ which are but the firft necefTary inlets to knowledge, or rudiments of it, caufed by the intervention of our outward fenles, and which perhaps are not peculiar to man. But we may take notice of fuch abilities as thefe which follow ; Its power of refledting upon itfelfand its own idea's, as well as upon things without itfelf ; its comparing, realbning and judging of things pad, prefent and future ; its eonfidering and fuiting ends to means, and adling always with fome defign or view of good, real or apparent : The power of in- venting and contriving, improving and per- fecting many noble arts and fciences, by eon- fidering the nature of feveral caules and their effects, and the dependencies of one thing, upon another ; the quicknefs of its thought and its power of reprefenting to itfelf, in an inflant, things at the greatefl: diftance, as if they were prefent, without the trouble of lo- cal

^ Ses Dr. Clarke'^ Letters to Mr. Leibnitz.

SERMON VIII. 245

cal motion ; the power of forming to itfelf abftraded notions of things, and as it were creating lubjeds of thought, which have no other actual exiftence but in itfelf, and judg- ing of their agreement or difagreement with one another, and thereby of producing many ufeful truths. Thefe and many others are the properties of an Human Mind, which fhew it to be an inteUigent being of a nature quite difTerent from that of matter, however modi- fied ; which made fome of the moft fagacious Heathen Philofophers 'judge it to be T^ivine^ or of the fame Nature with God himfeli^ and therefore Eternal alio.

3. As to Goodnefs, though it mufl be con- fefs'd, that the traces of it are not always {o vifible, as we could wifli ; the true reafon of which failure is belt learn'd from Divine Re«. velation, yet there are not wanting fuch marks even of that, where ill cuftom, and ill example, and want of due culture hath not

R 3 quite

i Itaque quicquid eft illud, qqod fentit, quod fapir, quod vult, quod viget, caelefte & divinum eft, ob eamque rem aeternura fit neceife eft. Nee vero Deus ipfe, qui intelligi- tur a nobis, alio modo intelligi poteft, nifi mens foluta qu^r dam & libera, fegregata ab omni concretione moitali, om- nia fentiens & raovens, ipfaque prsedita motu fempiterno, Cic.Tufc, lib, I. cap, zf.

$4^ SERMON VIII.

quite deflroyed them, asfhew, that it does ori- ginally belong to the mind of man ; fo that a man mafl be monilroufly depraved indeed, that has loft all fenfe of doing good. There are hardly any ib bad as not inwardly to ap- prove of the exercife of Juftice, Benignity, Gratitude and Sincerity, and to abhor all acts of Injuftice, Cruelty, Ingratitude and Bafenefs. We lliould not call the generous propenfton of doing kindnefs to others by the nameof //?^;?M/^i{)', if luch an inclination did not originally belong to Human Nature ; nor could all men be fp generally prone to diftafte and think amifs of all effed:s of pure felfifhnefs in others, if a friendly or foetal principle were nor natural. And here I can- not but obferve, that molt of thofe preten- ders to Philofophy, whether ancient or mo- dern, who have excluded a wife and good Providence out of their fchemc, have alfo given the worft character that can be of hu-r man nature, making mere felf-enjoymcnt and Fear the only principles of human virtue. ^That Epciints and his followers made rh

chief

^ Quippe qui (Epicurtis) teftificetur ne intelligere qui-

dem [<i polTc ubi TiC, autqwid fit uliuai bonum, prccrer jliud,

quod

SERMON VIII. 247

chief good or ultimate end of human happl- nels to confift in PJeafurc, and that plealure to arife, either from mere bodily fenfations^ or from reficdion upon fuch lenlations, is well known to all that are acquainted with the writings of the Ancients. And that this opinion reduces Man very near to the level of a brute, is evident at the firft fight to any one that confidcrs it : and the maintainers of it are not much concerned to deny this con-- fcquence. [But they that would fee this o- pinion and its conlequenccs examined and confuted at large, may find their fatisfidion in Tullys fecondbook de F'lmbus^ where the matter is fet in a very clear light.] And as for that other principle of the fame Scdl, that ^^// k'lndnefs and good-will arifes from weaknefs, it has of later days been copied,by thofe who make the natural ftate of man a flate of war (in which every man is an enemy to all o- thers) and all peaceable and kind offices the R 4 effe(5t

quod cibo aut potione & aurium deleclatione, & oblcccna volupt;<te capiitur. C'tc. de Finih. I. 2. cap. 3.

— Eft autem ate femper dictum, nee gaudere quemquam nifi prop'-er corpus, nee dolere. fL cap. 30. Neg^s .mimi ' ullum effe g?.udium quod non refeiatur ad corpu?, ib.

1 Omnis in imbecillitate eft & g'aiia &: c-uitas,

De Nat. Bear. I. I. cap. ult.

248 SERMON VIII.

effed: only of fear, arifing from a fenfe of our own weaknefs and inability to fubdue all o- thers. But though this may indeed be a re- prefentation of thefe men's own corrupted temper; yet if it were not a very falfe ac- count of Human nature in general, the world would be in a much worfe condition than it is. For, thanks to the Author of our na- ture, there are in theie very men fome fuch natural propenfions to fociety as overthrow their afTumed principle, and ihew, that man is naturally a foetal ammal. Upon which account, befides the confideiation of the fore- mentioned excellencies, in the mind of man, fmgly taken, by which in forae Ibrt he re- fembles the Supreme Being, we may alfo ob- ferve, how the joint exercife of them pro- duces many noble and beneficial effeds in the world, in fome kind relembling thofe of Pro- vidence, though in degree infinitely below them. From hence come all thole • conveni- encies of human life, the procuring and im- proving of which makes io great a part of the bufinefs of men, both in their private and focial ftate ; fiach as building, planting, tilling, inventing new and ufeful arts of all kinds, ex- ercifing Trade and Commerce, forming defigns, and making laws and rules for their more hap-

py

SERMON VIII. 249

py living in fociety , feeking out means of making their communication and intercourfe with others more extenfive , and exercifmg a fort of care and providence, not only over their own Species, but even over many of the Brute creatures alio. Now from whence is it, but from an original fenfe of Goodnefs in the mind of man , that men dire(5t their natural portion of Wildom and Power to fuch benefi- cial purpofes ? and that their own confciences reproach them, for every wilful deviation from what appears to be jufl and right ; that is, for every deliberate acftion which is greatly contrary to, or inconfident with, the natural good of mankind, though it may for the pre- fenr gratify their mere animal pafiions or fen- fations ? Corporeal impreflions alone could never produce fuch fentiments of remorfe for ading contrary to reafbn , or of fatisfadtion for ad:ing according to it ; bur would very of- ten produce the contrary, if not controlled by fuperior Thought and Confideration, which is able to correct the prefent impulfes of mat- ter upon us : So that reafon and thought is of a nature very diftindt from that of Matter and Motion, and fuperiour to it.

To this purpofe I might farther oblerve di- vers other properties in the mind of man ;

which.

250 SERMON VIII.

which , though they are not ib much images of the divine perfedions of a fupreme Being, jas endeavours of attaining fomething Hke them ; yet they do tacidy imply our natural appre- henfions of fuch a fupreme Being, to whom luch perfections do neceffarily belong. Of kind, for inftance, is, The perpetually grow- ing defne of knowledge, and that of all kinds, .as far as polTible. The eye is not fatisfied with feeing^ nor the ear with hearing ; nor does the mind, which is exercifcd in the fearch of Truth, ever think it has proceeded far enough, but is always (Iriying to enlarge its views, and make new additions to its (lock of knowledge. In like manner^ its perpetual enquiry afrer Happinefs, or Good, is without all bounds, and cannot be fatisfied with any thing lels than infinite. It is always aipiring after ibmething higher and nobler, than what at prefent it en- joys. Whatever methods it takes to procure them, yet it is always, in its nature, rending towards foaie farther real or imaginary degrees of happinefs. Thus alfo it is conftantly aiming at, and as it were, reaching forward towards Im- mortality ; and therefore naturally endeavour- ing fome way or other to attain it. It finds in its nature an utter abhorrence of not being at all, (b that it chufes an imaginary exiftence

rather

SERMON VIII. 251

rarhcr than none, endeavouring always, by fome means or other, to furvive this life, if it be but in fame, and the memory of others. This natural defire or inftintft, even Epicurus himfelf could not but follow, though it were a conrradid:ion to his own principles '", when by his Will, he appointed a day to be annual- ly kept by his followers, in commemoration of himfelf and Metrodorus. This inftindl is by Tidly " more juftly called, a natural pre^ fage of a Future ft ate ^ with which he ob- ferves, all the greatefl: and bcft minds are mofl: firmly poffefTed. Nov/ the fore-menrioned powers or perfections, abilities or inflin<5ts, naturally in the mind of man, do indeed, to a confiderate man, argue a cloie dependence upon a fuperior Being, in nature, infinitely a- bove any fenfible object, from whom rhefe pcrfed:ions are derived, and whole nature they do refemble. For feeing the fame pcrfed:ions exercifed in the world in an infinite degree, which it felf exercifes in a fmaller compals and

a lower

"> 0/r^«/^e Tally de Finibu3, lib. x. cab. 31. AndT>\o- genes Laertius, in the life of Epicurus.

" Inb^ret in mentibus quali feculorum cjuoddam

augurium futurorum ; idquc in maximi? ingeiiiis Jiltillimifq; animis & exdllit raaximc U apparet faalhine. Tufcal. Difp.

I. i. C. If.

252 SERMON VIII.

a lower degree, how can it do otherwife than conclude, that there is an Infinite mind, to whom all thefe perfed:ions originally belong ? And thus is the Mind of man naturally led to the acknowledgment of a God, from refleding upon it felf

I know not how far fuch confiderations as thefe, may move thole men who think of no- thing but matter and motion ; and are re- folved to fetch the principles of all things from thence. But I am periiiaded, that if men would ferioufly confider things as they are, without refolving firft from whence they will have them come, they would more eafily fee from what caufe or principle they do really come ; and would not alcribe efFeds, in which fuch wonderful Wifdom, Power and Goodnefs, do manifeftly appear, to caufes fo infinitely below the efFeds themfelves.

Now the refult of what I have faid, both in this and my former Difcourfe, upon this third Ground of univerfal perfuafion of the Being of God , is this. The manifeft inftances of in- conceivable Wifdom , Power and Goodnefs, conftantly difplayed in the frame and prefer- vation of the world ; and , in fome meafure, as it were , exemplified in the Mind of man, couldlaot proceed, either from chance or ne-

celTity ;

SERMON VIII. 253

cefTity ; that is, from any cafual concourfe of the minute parts of matter impelling one ano- ther, without any directing caufe ; and there- fore mufl: argue an Intelligent Being, fuperior to all thefe effeds, to whom all thefe perfed:i- ons do originally belong.

That confiderate and thinking men did thus, by reafon and arguing from efFed:s to a Firft caufe, eflablifh their belief of the Being of a God and a Providence, ( the exiftence whereof they had perhaps generally been fomething acquainted withal, by tradition, before they begun to realbn about it) is a matter of fad:, to which the writings of all ages give teftimony. And that their Argu- ment was true and concluding cannot be deny- ed, but by (uppofmg fomething, that implies fomemanifeft abfurdity or conrradid:ion ; fiich as, that things may be without any lufficient caufcs of their being. Indeed to keep this ab- furdity from appearing, men who deny Pro- vidence would fain make ufe of the woid °iV^- ture , as a fufRcient Iblution for every thing. P But this is a word of a very ambiguous and indeterminate fignification, till we firft know

whac

o See Velleius in Tully, dc Nat. D. lib. i. ca/.zo. V See TuIIv de Nat. D, lih.-h. cap. 51.

254- SERMON VIII

what principle he goes upon that ufes it. Fof it has one meaning with an Epicurean^ and another with a Sto'tc^ and another in another Sed of Philofophy. Tlato"^ obferves, that forae Pretenders ro Philofophy in his time, in- troduced Atheillical opinions, by making iW- tare and Chance, antecedent and fuperior to Art and Defign, fuppofing that both the forir Elements or Matter, and the Form of the Uni- verfe, the Heavenly Bodies, Plants and Ani- mals, and all other things, were made only by a Fortuitous mixture of contrary Qualities ', that they were not the EffeB of any IN- TELLIGENT MINT> or GO'D 3 or of ART and T>ESIGN, but of NATVRE and CHANCE-, but that ART and T>E' SIGN arofe out of them afterwards. And where he proceeds to difcourfe farther of this

opi-

q vide PlatoneiTi de Repuh. I. x. pag. 889.

>^ TV/C^i^i '"'* 5 "'l^'x-^^'^i^'^ riyjUM, &C.

*■ K«r ■sruv^oe. otitotx rri T Ivxvritov k^xth y^ tv^cU/j £| «v«y. x«? a-uocKe^xS-}}, tcujtti f^ x.xtx txvtx area yey£m]x.6vct4 T re h^xvov «Aov }^ Tirxtrx o-Troa-x kxt i^xiov ' 7^ t^iix ao !^ Qvtx ^vf^- "TexttXy M^ut -STXTm c^ T«rwv 'j^of^iav' «' JsJgi vyv (^etT/v) tide 2^^ rivx &ioi, QSi ;^, Tiy^iljj ■ x>i^x, 0 Xtya>^{j, plrti >^ 'H'/CV'

SERMON VIII. 255

opinion, he fays, that ' whoever affirms this^ muft Juppofe , that Fire , and Water , and Earthy and Air ^ were the fir ft of all Be- ings^ and muft call thefe by the Na7ne of NATURE, and fay that SOVL ( or the principle of Life and Thought ) aro/e from them, and was fiibfeqiierit to them. And then going on to confute this Opinion, by flievv- ing, that the operations o{ Alind, Thinking, Underflanding, Wiihng, ^c. are antecedcnc to being Hard or Soft, Light or Heavy ^ and the hke properties of matter : He oblerves, that ^ they make a wrong nfe of the word NATURE, who apply it to the firft Ori- ginal prodti^ion of things , when they put ^MATTER or BOTiT in the firft place. But that if they would allow SOUL or MIND to be older than MATTER or BODT, they might then be allowed to fay, that fuch things are fo or fo by Nature, but otherwife it is wrong to fay fo.

Thus,

^ iLti^uu^jH "fi 0 Xiyav rouJTci, uTv^ y^ vSu^ sC yloj t^ ecepce,

^ OvK. o^dui ^^TDi bijAav^ /.f'ywv ylvSTii t 'Z^C* f'* "sr^SiTX ' (ra iJ o-a'uxTx riSixri ix ■sr^aiTcs) « jj' (pavuVeJ) "^^Z^ ■st^utm, it arv^ tide xr.P., "yv^ii 3' ci ■srpcaroii y^yyVKfojj'if, JJjf^*" o^j6otxt» >\iyt)tr «» «y«< ^g.0ea^»r6ii, on <pvo-H Tou-T ecB-' ' i^Tai f va»T«6 • «** 'Vv^t/J Tii tTn^fi'^r, w«£s-«y?f'^-;4v bvx* trui^xr^, »7l.Mi ^ tiax~ fiNi. ib. /aj. 891.

4

25^ SERMON VIII.

Thus, when an incelhgent and adive Pro- vidence, antecedent and fuperior to matter and motion, is excluded, Nature can fignify no- thing but the ftate in which things are, with- out any confideration of what caufes them to be ; fo that it is only the name of a train of EfiFecSts following one another, and not ofa- ny real Agent. And to this fenfe all the Athe- iftical Hypothefes of Nature , will at laft be reduced. Sometimes by Nature^ is meant an acStive principle, and then it either fignifies the fupreme Being, and firft Caufe of all things^ defcribed by another name , intimating, not only his power, but his method of adting ; or elfe it fignifies an inferior Agent, made by the Supreme, to actuate the world under him in a dated method ; Which is what fome underfland by the An'ima mund't. And in ei- ther of thefe fenfes , it implies, either imme- diately or ultimately, a wife and intelligent Providence ordering all things. But when a- ny thing elfe is meant by ir, 'tis only puzzling the Caule to alcribe any real power to it.

Now fetting afide the ufe of this ambiguous word, from which men are apt to confound caufes and efTeds without diftind:ion ; they who deny a free, adtive, wife and good Pro- vidence governing the world, as the firft Caufe

of 4

SERMON VIII. 257

of all thefe effects of which we have been fpeaking, mud, in the conclufion, be re- duced to affert , either , that there is really no, fuch thing, as vvifdora, power or good- iiefs in the world ; or that what we cfteem fuch, is the mere, cafual or necelTary refult of matter and motion; or clfe^ that all things were from eternity, in the very way they now are : The Abfurdity of all which will be very briefly fliewn, in my next Difcourfe ; when I ihall likewife confider the Inference, which the Apoftle here makes, from mens having fuch natural means of knowing God ; which is, That tbej are '-jvithout exctife, becaufe that when they knew God^ or had iufficient means of knowing him, they glorified him not as Gody neither were thankful.

New to the King Eternalj Immortal, In- 'vifible^ the only wife God, be afcribed all^ower, and Glory, and Honour y for evermore. Amen.

SERMON

SERMON iX.

Preached January the 6'^ 17 \l.

Rom. i. —20, 21—

-- — So that tloey are without excufe : Becaufe that when they knevj God^ they

glorified htm not as God ^ neither

were thankful^ &c.

N thefe Words , and in the two Verfes going before, which have been the Subjed: of fome of my former Difcourfcs, the Apoftle ai-

ferts two things.

S %

h That

266 SERMON IX.

I. That God has , from the beginning of the world, given fufficient manifeftation of his own eternal ^ower and Godhead to man- kind by his works, or by what he has plain- ly done ^ a7id fill continues to do in the world.

II. That men having fufficient means of knowing God^ if they fill either difown or take no notice of his Being \ if they neither glorify him as God, nor Jhew any gratitude towards him, they become thereby utterly inexcufable, and may juflly ex^e6i to fall under his indignation for their negleSi of him.

The former of thefe I have already confi- dered: in doing of vvhich, Ihope^ I have gi- ven a reafonable account, of the ground or foundation of that univerfal perfuafion of the Being of God, which has poffeft: mankind in all ages and nations : by which it appears, that the motives to believe it are fuch, as not only the unthinking vulgar, bur- men of the bed underflanding and capacity, have, upon diligent examination , owned to be fufficiently convincing; as they have from time to time teftified ia their writings. And

CO

SERMON IX. 26i

to fuch as do acknowledge their convicStion of the Being of God, upon the foregoing evi- dence, I might, without any farther trouble, apply my felf, and defire them to confider the fecond aflertion of the Apoftle , in the words now before qs, which are an inference from the former.

But becaufe there are (bme men fb perverfe, as not to own themfelves fatisfied of the fiif- ficiency of any Arguments drawn from vifible Q^cOiS^ to prove a God or a Providence, till they fee the utter impoffibility that things ihould be , as they appear to be , any other way than by (uch Providence ; therefore to prevent all cavilling at the conclufions to be drawn from the foregoing premifTes, before I proceed to confider the confequence here in- tended to be fpoke to, I iliall, as I promiled in the Clofe of my lad Difcourfe, very briefly fliew. That whoever confiders the frame of the world, and of human nature in particular, and obferves the Effeds of Wifdom, Power and Goodnels, of which we have been fpeak- ing in the foregoing Difcourfes, and yet de- nies a Free, Adive, Wife and Good Provi- dence, making and governing the world, to be the firfl caufe of all thefe effeds , mud in the conclufion be reduced to afTert fomething

S 3 which

a62 SERMON IX.

vyhich implies a plain and manifeft abfurdi- ty. For the refult of all the reafoaings of fuch men , upon this Subjedt , mud, in the end , amount tp one of thefe Affections ; Either,

I. That there is really no fuch thing a§ Wifdom, Power or Goodnefs in the world : Or,

-L. That what we cfteem the effed of fuch, is only the mere cafual or necelTary refult of Matter and Motion ; Or,

3. That all things were from eternity, fuc- ceeding one another neceflarily in the way they now are.

'Tis true, that no Atheiftical perfons of commou fenfe^ will diredtly go about to main- tain all thefe afTcrtions ; nor will they flick to any one of them, when they are hard pref- fed with the ablurdity of it, but will present- ly retreat to another; as if their defign were, by frequent changes of their ground , rather to offend religion, than to defend themfelves : Whereas, to make their own principle fecure, it ought on fome fide or other, to be defen- fible ; which none of the foregoing affertions can be: For,

I. That there is really no fuch thing as IVifdom , Power or Goodnefs in the world ;

and

SERMON IX. 263

and that therefore, there can be no arguing at all from thence to prove a God or a Provi- dence, feems at the firfl propofal a very ab- furd affertion ; and perhaps few of them will now diredbly fay it, in fo many words : but by their earneftnels to fet afide all Final Caufes, as having nothing to do in the making of the world, or any part of it, they llievv a great inclination to clofe with it. For where there is no final caufe, there is no antecedent in- tention, and where all intention is excluded, there is no intelligent adiing, and confcquent- ly no exercife of wifdom or goodnels, nor indeed of power, properly fo called. And they are wont to admire the infidels of former days, who have certainly faid as much as this affer- tion comes to. Lucretius , for inftance, af- ferts, ' that the eye was not made to fee withal, nor the ear to hear withal, nor was any other S 4 part

» EfFugere illorumque errorem praemeditemur Lumina qui faciunt oculorum clara creata Profpicere iit poflimus, ct-c lib. iv. 821. Nil ideo quoniam natum'ft in copore ut uti Poffemus, fed, quod natum eft, id procreat ufum. Nee fuit ante videre oculorum lumina nata.

Multoque creatae funt prius aures

Quam fonus eft auditus : & omnia denique membra Ante fuere, ut opinor, eorum quam foret ufus. Haud igitur potuere utendi crefcere caufa. ib.

2^4 SERMON IX.

part of the body , defigned originally for any of the ufes to which we find ir fo very natu- rally, as we think, and conftanrly, applied; but that the ufe of thefe things was found out long after : and all this is built upon this notable reafbn, beeaufe things mtift be before their ufes. Now if this reafbn have any weight in it, we may as well fay, that no man could ever defignedly contrive Clocks or Watches, to fliew the hour of the day, be- eaufe they could not flievv it till they were made. I hope fuch men, who argue at this rate, will give us leave to fay, that they can- not defign any of their Arguments to prove any thing againfl: the being of Providence, or, indeed , that they have any defign at all in reaibning after this manner. For Vi there be any luch thing as antecedent defign or inten- tion, to be proved from men's arguing or their adling, then there is in the world iome Being which has intelligence, and ad:s with defign, adapting means to ends forefeen, and laying premifi^es together, in order to infer a conclu- jfion ; that is, there is really Wildom, Power and Goodnefs in the world : And if the efFeds of thefe appear, in a much higher and more evident degree , in the formation and ufe of things which we call natural, than in any of

thofe

SERMON IX. 16$

thofe conFrivances, which are the effeds of human Art, then it is an abfurdity not to think the efficient caufe of them, in a much higher degree, intelhgent than man is. And fmce man himfelf, with all his powers and perfecStions, could not make himfelf, but muft proceed from a fupcrior caule, that caufe muft have all the real pcrfedions which man has, in an eminent degree, or elfe thofe perfecti- ons in man would be caufed purely by no- thing, which is a manifefl contradid:ion. But ^. When they fay, that what we account the efFe6ts of wifdom, power and goodnefs, or of an Intelligent Being, is only rhe mere cafual orncccfTary refuit of Matter and motion, this will dill be liable to the lame abfurdity in the end, that fomething is cmtfed by nothing. for if there be any intelligent or underftand- ing Being in the world , any Being endued with conlcioufnefs and perception, as man is allowed to be, fuch intellgence, perception and confcioufnefs, muft either be a perfecflion diftindt from that of matter and motion, pro- duced by a fuperior, adive, intelligent Being, which is itlelf neither matter nor motion (and to allow this, is to own a God and a Spiritual Subftance, which is all that we contend for in this argument ;) Or it muft be a compofl*

tion

266 SERMON IX.

tion of Unintelligent figure and motion ; Or elfe it muft be fomething caufed by nothing. Now that any compofition of unintelligent figure and motion, fhould be intelligence, thought, perception or confcioufnefs, is alto- gether abfurd : Becaufe, whatever the com- pofition of any material thing is, it is ftill in reality only that thing (or things) of which it is compounded. It is not altered in nature, but only in fituation of parts : It may ap- pear differently to our fenfes, but to our rea- ibn it is ftill the fame, let the parts be never {6 mix'd or divided. A Globe cut into two Hemilpheres, is not a jot nearer to Thought than it was before, becaufe it is only the two parts of the fame whole : nor can two equal Hemilpheres put together have any other na- ture than what a Globe has : And the like may be faid of all divifions or compofitions of figure, or of matter and motion, how va- rious Ibever. Therefore unlefs Figure be Thought, and all matter have fenle, percep- tion and confcioufnefs (which is fo abfurd a fuppofition, that though fome have advanced it, yet, I believe, few will maintain it) the^ po matter, as (uch, can have it or caufe it. And then whatever has fenfe, perception and qnderftanding, if it be not caufed by a fupe-

rior.

SERMON IV. 2^7

rior, intelligent, immaterial Being, muft be caufed by nothing ; that is, there muft be aa effedt without any caufe at all, which is ab- furd.

'' Ttilly very often in his writings charges the hypothejis of Efictirm with thfe abftirdi- ty, of afTigning a particular motion of decli- nation to atoms, (which Larr^^//^ calls clina- men principorum^) in order to produce free- will, or a power of ading voluntarily, and yet not pretending to aflign any caufe of fuch declination, which, he fays, is *" the moft ab^ furd blunder that any phtlofofher can fall into. And he makes this a fundamental fault ip the philofophy ^ both of Epicurus and ^emocritus^ that they confidered only mat- ter, and not the efficient caule, or power by which things are produced. And indeed who- ever does this, will, in the end^ be forced

upon

b I>e Finibus Bon. o'mal. I. i. cap. 6. And in his Book I. de Nat. Deor. cap. 25. and in feveral places of his book He Fato.

^ Ait enim declinare atomumfine causa, quo nihil turpius phyfico. De finih. l.i.c.6.

^ Utriufque (Democriti fc. & Epicuri) cum multa non pro- bo, turn illud in primis, quod cum in reium natur;i duoqua:- renda fint, iinum, quae materia fit, ex qua quxque res effi- ciatur; alterum, quae vis fit, quae quidque efficiat; demate- xia difieruerunt, vim & caufam cfiiciendi reliquerunt. ih.

2^8 SERMON IX.

Upon the fame abfurdiry that Epicurus was^ or fomerhing very like it. And the remov- ing it a degree further ofi^ will not alter the cafe, unlefs it be to make the thing more ab- ford when we come at it. Juft as Epicurus to avoid one difficulty , which T^emocritus it ieems did not take care to fence againft, run upon this folution, which, as ^ Tully fays, was much worfe than owning the thing to be indefenfible. And this has, in the event, been the cafe of all thofe fchemes of Philofb- phy, which have pretended to make the world without an infinite intelligent Mind being con- cerned in it.

3. To fupppfe, that all things were from jEternity, fucceeding one another neceffarily, in the way they now are, without any Su- preme Intelligent Power to dilpofe them, or give them motion, will alfb be equally ab- lurd. That Ibmething mud have exifted from all eternity, cannot be denied by any one ;

for

e Epicurus cum viderct fi atomi ferrentur in locum inferi- orem fuopte pondere nihil fore in nollra poteftate, (]uod effet earum motus certus & neceffarius ; invenit quomodo neceffitatem effugeret, quod videlicet Bemocrltum fiigerat. Ait atomum, cum pondere & gravitate direda deorfus fera- tur, declinare pauUulum, Hoc dicere turpius eft quam illud quod vult, non poffe defendere, Be Nat. D. I. 25.-

SERMON IX. 16^

for elfc nothing could ever have exifted. This mufl: therefore either be fome one lelf-exift- ent, unchangeable^ independent Being, from whom all other things originally receive their being ; or elfe there muft be an eternal iiic- cefTion of dependent changeable Beings, as this vifible world comprehends, one produ- cing another, without any original caufe at all: that is, there muft be an infinite ieries of efFedts, following one another, without ^ny eificient caufe : which is abfurd.

Ariftotle indeed is alledged as an afferter of the Eternity of the world : and being a man of a very piercing judgment, Atheifts Ibme- times think themfelves liifficiently defended under the patronage of his name. But li they would really confult his writings, they would find that his arguments afford their caufe but very little defence. For whatever eternity he may afcribe to the material world, he is very far from doing it in their lenfe. He never thought, that matter could move itfelf^ or could be the original caufe of all things ; but he makes ^ an Eternal^ Intelligent^ In- dependent

^ aiS-i^ruM (pxii^v m4 t ei^nfj^u*. Metaphyf. I. 12.. cap. 7.

270 SERMON IX.

dependent Mind to be the firft canfe or prin- ciple of all things, and that which gives mo- tion to all things, being itfelf unmoveable and unchangeable : as may be {ztx\ at large both in his Thyjlcks and Metaphyjicks. And he every- where makes beauty and order to be the effeiSl:^ of -M/Wand 'Vnderftanding And he com- mends Anaxagoras in many places, ^ for thi^ principle, that an intending mind was the caufe of what is good and rights and the mover of matter t forfome end and defign. And he is fo iar from thinking final or intending caufes un- philofbphical, that he expofes that Philofb- phy, as very ridiculous, which pretends to give an account of the formation of animals

without

a^ a-Vf^QeQfUcoi' ' ' >^ *" KivQv dihoi t^ tf^ti^v rH Ktvyf^a, and much more to the fame purpofe, I. ii. cap. 8, 9, 10. where, after Jhew'tng that there cannot be a progrejftort of caufes jn in- finitum, -without one original independent caufe, he concludes ■with thefe words. To, 5 otrx y QsMj -sroi^tTi^Se^ Kxic£i, *,*« «ty«6'ovaroAuxoi^«v('>j, «« xolouv^, ^nd in his Phy/icks, l.S. cap. 6. he hat thefe words, '£» yi roii (pva-H, <J« li •a-iTrepxa-iS^o* x^

•rQ$( oTt dtei'yx.t) tivou ri 'sv f^ uiaiov t* zs'^mtov kivSv, C/C

g Metaph. I. i. cap. 3. er lib. iz. cap. lo. *A»«|«yogj65 ^c

«$ xivS* 7» ayaflov u^x^-^* ^ "/^ '^S «<►«, u»^x x(»« cttKU, riy<^. HoXtieixS ^ Y> TB tuTtev §" KeeAw; )^ cpiii r ytrr Afy«. /. I»

dtAnma. cap. z.

SERMON IX. 271

without them, and he fays, x.\\2it^ an ordinary carpenter would give a much better account of a piece of work^ of which he was the maker ^ than fitch kind of Thtlofophers did, who went no farther than the mere mecha- nical motion of one part of matter upon an- other. And he clfewhere ' juflly blames thofe Philofophers, who allowed nothing but mat- ter, in the univerfe, for introducing motion without any ad:ive caule or principle to pro- duce it ; And likewiie, becaufe ^ they were not able to give any account of what was good and fit (t5 ih x^ ica,?\.cog) in the being or formation of things, from matter alone, or

from

tiviii on if/.-TrcTov]©^ y o^yoc^a t» y. xoiXn £j^j£7t> to ^ iviin- eov, d^M, oioTi T ziXt)yUo iTrottitrxTV TotouurUu x) t/v(^ t^eKd^ tpft

T cuTicct, u'c. de Par lib. Ammalium. lib. i, cap. i.

WXeiOtMy «S"<, M* fl T^TB O-Vf^'oCUtH )^ T(' 75 OATlOlf ii yi ^^ TV

ys \ZJ7)Keiu(<io7 eujit -zfoih faflaQdyi^Hv eccuro' Xifu a'' iiov, itte TO |i;A<)» i-re o ;g*A)to? curiof y f^i1x-ooi.y)sHv EKctre^t ccorm ' »J'c •UitH Tt /A |t/Aa» »tA(iJj», o 5 ;C*^*»$ cctd^iciilx , eiXk' littpai tl "f /ttE7«'50^?? i'j^/ov * T9 J^e tQtb H^yflHv ir'i to t cti^v ei^^lu) ^r,- 7«i') »5 «» jJiMH? ^«M3}yt4£», o6ei j> «i^Z*i "^ «<>)}»•£««. Metoph. I. I. cap. 3.

'^ T» yi ev i^ xxXui T« jM. f;ii«i' T<« o( yiitio^cii t 'ot']a)tiru9

272 SERMON IX.

from chance and fortune. And ^ thofe who make Body or matter the only fubflance, or univerfal nature, he condemns of great mi- flake, inalmuch as they confider only the firft principles of body, but not of things mcor- foreal^ though there be things incorporeal'^ And likewife, becaufe, pretending to philofo- phize about the nature of all things, they take away (or leave bur) the caufe of mo- tion. So that Ariftotle was far from think- ing an immaterial fubflance a contradiction,; or that Matter could move itfelf, or think and ad.

Thus I have endeavoured briefly to repre- fent the abfurdities which they mud of ne- ceflity be driven to, who deny a Supreme, Intelligent, Eternal and Self exiflent Being to be the original caufe of all things, and the Author of all the Beauty^ Order and Har- mony of the world, and the fountain of all the Power, Wifdom and Goodnels, which is manifefl: in the frame and prefervation of it. And I might have drawn this matter out to

a much

' 'Oo-oi ftj' ^'* f*' '^^ "^ "''*• ^ i^leev eivct* (pva-iv w? v'Mv iiSsxTiy cXoySnsi tv '^ Kms-tui ehTtot di»*^9viyc Metaph, I, I. cap. f.

SERMON IX. 273

a greater length in the abftradcd or metaphy* ileal way of rcafoning, if my incended me- thod would have allowed iiic to purine thai: courfe. But bccaufe this has been fully done in that ^emonjlratlon of the Being and At - irtbutes of Gody which was foaie years a« go publiihcd by an excellent Author, as the fubftancc of his Difcourfes upon this iubjcd', 1 fhall rather refer thole that dcfire farther fa- Hsfadlion in this way to that Treatife itfclf, where the arguments of Mr. Hoboes 2i\\^S^i- noza, and other Materialifts, arc fully an- fwered, and the Self exiftence of one inde- pendent infinite Being of all poflible perfe- ction demondrativcly proved.

I proceed therefore nov/ to what is afferted in the words of the tcxr, as an interence from the foregoing do(ftrine, viz. 'That men ha- lving fifficient means of kfiowhig God (i. e. plain and evident reafon to convince them; that there isfuch a 3dng) if not'-xithfand^ng thisy they either difovun^ or take no riot ice of his Being., if they neither glorify him as God, nor fhevj any gratitude towards hlm^ Jtbey become -thef'eby utterly inexcufable., and will therefore certainly fall under his jiifi indignation for their ncgle^ of him. .Thi'S is what the Apoftlc affirms even of the Hea-

T thcd

274 SERMON IX.

then world, That they are without excufe-, becaufe that^ when they knew God^ they glorified him not as Gody neither were thank- ful.

This confequence is what thofe men would fain avoid, who are inclined to Atheifm, but yet are not hardy enough abfolutely to deny thofe demonftrations which are brought for the Being of a God, when they are prels'd with them. They have underftanding enough to fee the abfurdity of attempting to prove it impodible, that there Ihould be fuch a Being, as we call God. And therefore they are wil- ling to wave that point, and to compromife the matter would content themfelves to let it reft as a fpeculative point, of which much may be faid on both fides ; though they are pleafed when they can find out objedions a- gainft any particular method of proving it. But then they take it ill that we iliould offer to perfuade them, that they are under any obligation themfelves ad:ually to own the be- lief of fuch a Being, or to tell them that they can be under any penalty from him for nuc believing, or not attending to the confequen- ces of fuch belief. Why fhould we not be contented to let them alone to their own un- certainty, and, with Trotagoras^ to declare

freely^

SERMON IX. 275

freely, that they have nothing to fay, whe- ther there be any God or no ? Nay farther, they would perfuade us, that it is inconfill:- ent with that original notion or idea of Good- nefs which we mafl prcfuppofc in God, if there is any fuch Being, to make any Man luffer for denying, or not believing his Being. A certain Author, who in his writings feems much more concerned for an elegant turn, and, as he fancies, a polite manner of wriring, than for any real confiftency of thought, juftnefs of feiirimcnt, or (trid: con- iequence of reafon exprefs'd in it, has in a very artificial manner drefs'd up a plea, in be- half of thofe who call themfelvcs Free-think- ers \ which he propofes as a fecurity againfl all liiperftition, "^ " To remember that there «' is nothing hi God, but what is Godlike-^ *' that he is either not at allj or truly and per- " fedly good. But that when we are afraid " to ufe our reafon freely, even on that very " queftion^ Whether be really he or not ; we " then adtually prcfume him bad, and flatly " contradid that pretended Charadcr of good- " nefs and greatnefs, whilrt: we dilcover tliis ^' miftruft of his temper, and fear his anger T X « and

"> Chara6ltrijl'iciis, Vol I. f. 33, 34, 35.

216 SERMON IX.

'' and refentmenr, in the cafe of this freedom " of inquiry. — -^" And again, " What " merit can there be in believing God or his " Providence upon frivolous and weak " grounds ? What virtue in affuming an opi* " nion contrary to the appearance of things^ " and rcfoiving to hear nothing that may be " faid agaiiift it ? Excellent Charader of the " God of Truth ! that he lliould be ofTcnded " at us, for having refufed to put the lye up- " on our underftandings, as much as in us lay^ " and be fatisfied with us, for having be- " lieved at a venture, and againft our reafouj " what might have been the greatefl: fallhood " in the world, for any thing we could bring '' as a proof or evidence to the contrary. " And again he tells us^ " A man mufl: have " fiirely an unhappy opinion of God, and *• believe him not fo good by far as he knows *' himfelf to be, if he imagines, that an im- *' partial ufe of his reafon, in any matter of *' Speculation whatloever, can make him run " any rifque hereafter : and that a mean de- *' nial of his Reafon, and an afFedration of " belief, in any point too hard for his under- *' Handing, can entitle him to any favour in *' another world. This is being Sycophants *^ in Religion, mere Parafites of Devotion.

Now

SERMON IX. 277

Now though this Author has in ibnne paf- fages of his writings very fine ftrokcs in de- fence of a Supreme Governing Mind, which, if purfued, do not feeai very confiftent with what he here infinuates ; and has indeed in this place been fo cautious, as not dired;ly to affert, that the downright open profcffion of Atheilm cannot be any way difpleafing to God Almighty, or incur any jull: relent ment from him ; yet if we confider the drift of this " whole Trcatife, and how kindly in other places he takes all thofe men into his protc- (Stion, the falfenefs of whofe Philofbphy he could not but dilcern, who have no other tide to that Free-tb'ink'mg, which he would en- courage, but their liberal charging all Religion with Impofture or Credulity; and how much he puts all kind of Revelation, real and pre- tended, upon the fame bottom ; and if we confider farther, how thole men, who have treated all Religion in grofi^er language, have cited this Author with great approbation, as a patron of their opinions, we may, I think, without any injufkicc, fay, That this way of reafoning does really, in their judgment, im- ply fo much. And efpecially when the fup- T 3 pofed

■ . '" ~~ — ___— ^

n Ejfay on the Freed jm of Wit and Humour, />. Oj

278 SERMON IX.

pofed charader of the T)ivine Being is, ia the conclufion, intended to be drawn under the following refemblance of a Prince or Mi- nifter of Hate, in thefe words, " 'Tis natural " (fays he°) for us to wiili our merit Ihould " be known ; particularly, if it be our for- '' tune to have ferved a nation as a good Mi- '' nifler ; or as fome Prince or Father of a '' country, to have render'd happy a confi- " derable part of mankind under our care. " But if it happen'd, that of this number there " fhould be lome fo ignorantly bred, and of ** fo remote a province, as to have lain out " of the hearing of our name and ad:ions ; *• or hearing of 'em, Ibould be fo puzzled ** with odd and contrary {lories told up and " down concerning us, that they know not " what to think, whether there were really " in the world any fuch perion as our felf : ^^ fliould we not in good truth be ridiculous " to take offence at this ? And iliould we not " pafs for extravagantly morofe and ill-hu- ^' mour'd, if inftead of treating the matter in " raillery, we fliould think in earneft of re- " nj e n ging our f elves on the offending parties, " who, out of their ruftick ignorance, ill

" judgment

o Pag. 37.

SERMON IX. 279

" judgment or incredulity, had detraded from " our renown ? " Thefe words, one would think, do not want a comment to let us into their meaning, or defigned application ; or if they did, thofe w^hich follow will fufficienrly clear it. For thus he goes on ; p " How fliall " we fay then ? Does it really deferve praife " to be thus concerned about it ? Is the doino; " good for Glories fake fo divine a thing ? Or " is it not diviner to do good, even where it " may be thought inglorious , even to the " ungrateful, and to thofe who are wholly " infenfible of the good they receive? How " comes it then, that what is divine in us *' ihould lofe its character in the divine Be- " ing ; and that according as the T)eity is re- " prefented to us , he fliould more reiemble *' the weak, womaniili and impotent part of <' our nature, than the generous, manly and « divine?"

Now the fum of all this kind of reafoning. can amount only to this, that it is inconfiftent with Divine goodnefs, to make any man fuffer for the denying of the Divine Being. I defirc that I may always have the higheft Venerati- on pofTible for the Divine goodnefs, and am

p Pag. 38.

T 4 very

28o SERMON IX,

very ready to grant, with this Author, "^ '' that " nothing but what is morally excellent caa ^ have place in theE)eity ;" and that " unlefs " we be iatisfied that he is good, and cannot de- " ceive us, there can be no real religioi^s faith or " confidence ; " and moreover, that, " \f there " be really Tome thing previous to Revelation, « fome antecedent demonftration of Realbn " to affure us, that God is, and, withal, that " he is Co good , as not to deceive us ; the " iame realbn, if we will truft to it, will de- " monflratc to us, that God is fo good, as to " exceed the very beft of us in Goodnefs ?" Yer, notwichdanding, I can by no rneans de- duce the fame general conclufion which this Author does in thefc words, after this man- ncr , ''Ji'e can have no dread or fiifp'icion to render us wieafy : for it is MALICE on- ly^ and not GOOD NE S S ^ that c^n make its afraid. Indeed a good man, who always adbs fincerely, according to his bell: under- ftanding, and is ever ready to be governed by thofe principles of Religion, which the High- eft and moft unprejudiced reafon will affure liim are worthy of God, h^s no reafon to be afraid of any deficiency in the Divine good- nefs

SERMON IX. 28?

ncfs towards him, which is ever ready to com- panionate even all (uch miflakcs as are purely involuntary. But what is this to a man, that having means of knowing God, yet cither ut- terly denies, or takes no notice of his Being? All men indeed , by reafon of their different degrees of underftanding, cannot have equal- ly perfed: notions of the Nature of God and his Attributes : But there is no man who has attained to the ufe of his reafon , but he can evidently difcover that he did not make him- iplf: And I hope I have formerly ihewn, that there is no man of fo remMe a province, as to be out of the hearing of the name and ani- ons of the great Governour of the world. The vifible Creation is a book open to all men, and every man carries his own Mind a^ bout him ; and thefe grounds for the belief of ^ God and his Providence ., are neither weak nor frivolous. Such a Belief, is fb far from ajfuming an Opinion contrary to the appear- ance of things y ox putting a lye upon the un^ ^erjianding, or believing at a venture, and againfl our Reafon., that if I lliould lay wich the ^falmift, that the Heavens declare the Glo- ry of God .y and the firmament fheweth his handy-work— and that there is neither fpeech nor language^ where their voice is not heard \

the

282 SERMON IX.

the reafoning of an heathen Author would bear teflimony to ir, who tells us, ' that That man mitft be void of all mind or underftand- ing Jjimfelfj who thinks that there is no fu- ferior mind directing the wonderful order of the Heavenly bodies^ 2ind ^prejerving the in- credible conjiancy of their motions^ upon which the frefervation and well-being of all things Joas fo great a dej^endence. And what the natural confequence arifing from hence is, we are told in another place by the lame Author, even where he is as much as may be difcou- raging all fuperftition * : That there is fome fi'tpreme^ excellent and eternal Being', and that the fame Being is to be had in the great- eft reverence and admiration by allmankindy the Beautiful frame of the world , and the order of the Heavenly bodies forces us to con- fefs. Now it is certain, that no man, who difputes againft the Being of God, can juftly

pretend

^ C-sleftium [/or [o it fliould be read, and not Caeleftem] ergo admirabilem ordinem', incredibilemque conftantiam, ex qua confervatio & falus omnium omnis oritur, qui vacare mente putat, is ipfe mentis expers habendus eft. Cic de Nat' Deer. I. 1. cap. zr.

» Effe prseftantem aliquam ceternamq; naturam & earn fu- fpiciendam admirandamque hominum ^eneri, pulchritudo iTitfndi ordoque rerum caeleftium cogit confiteri. Cic. de Di- v'mat, lib, 2. in fine.

SERMON IX. 283

pretend ignorance of his Being. Nor can the denial of his Being, confift with any kind of reverence or admiration of him ; '^for the very firft inftance and foundation of all refped: which we can pay him, muft be an acknow- ledgment of his Being. Let it then but be granted, that there are eternal and neceffary differences of things, and that the Will of God determines it felf always to ad:, according to the Eternal reafbn and nature of things, and that all Rational creatures are naturally obhg- ed to conform themlelves in all their anions, to the eternal Rule of realbn ; it will from thence follow, that there are Unchangeable moral obligations, or Laws of nature, refpec^:- ing man's behaviour towards the Supreme Be- ing, whole creature and iubjed: he is, as well as towards his fellow creatures. And if right Reafon be the fame thing, though in infinitely higher degree, in God, as in other rational Beings ; it muft alio neceffarily be his will, that all creatures Ihould ad according to their moral obligations ; And confequently , as there are natural evil confequences attending upon the perverfion of the natural order of things, and manifeft evils and inconveniencies

both

f Primus deorum cultiis eft Dcos creder . CT'f. vide Senec. Bpift. 9 J.

284- SERMON IX.

both to fociety and to private perfons, flowing from the tranfgreflion of the moral natural law ; fo it cannot be confident with the divine reafon, which is infinite wifdom, to make no difference between thofe that chufe to ad: a- grcably to the moral nature of things , and thofe that wilfully a61; otherwife ; that is, he cannot have the fame regard for thofe who difown his Being and Providence, as for thofe who own and obey him.

There is no occafion to fuppofe any Malice^ pr any defed of Goodnefs in the divine Na- ture, for making this difference, which the very nature of things pnakes : And it is far irom being the pertedion of Goodnefs, to make thofe equal, whpfe merits, or moral ^dions, are unequal. And if this way of ar- guing, froin the notion of God's goodnefs, were jufl, then for the fame reafon he ought never to fuffer any man to be miferable, what • ever his demerits are. But we fee in fadt, that he ha$ done it ; and thefe miferies are real pu- nifliments upon mankind, for their wilful tranf- grefling the laws of Reafon and Nature. So that we muft either deny that there is any Supreme mind governing the wprld, or believe itconfiflent with his infinite goodnefs topunifli thofe, that is, fufTer them to be miferable,

who

r

SERMON IX. 285

who deny his Being, if he is a Being to whom we have any natural relation or obligation.

And thus men may certainly be under a na- tural obligation to the belief of a God , and may make themielvcs uncapable of receiving any good from him by an obftinate denial of his Exiftence, fmce, upon the the acknow- ledgment of his Exiftence, depends air the fenlc of natural duty that we can owe him. And farther, whoever denies the Being and Provi- dence of God, mufl neceffarily own, that he lives in a diftradled univerfe, where there is nothing of good or lovely to be depended on, becaule there is no wife or intelligent mind to order and govern it. And the forementioned Author, drawn by the mere force of Truth, owns ( in his Enquiry concerning Virtue ^ J " that fiich an opinion as this may by degrees '" embitter the tem.per, and not only make " the love of virtue to be Icfs felt, but help '' to impair and ruin the very principle of vir- " tue, viz. natural and kind affection ; and " that 'tis fcarce polTible to prevent a natural " kind of abhorrence and fpleen, which will " be entcrcain'd, and kept alive, by the ima- '' gination of fo petverfe an order of things : *' *^ and in concludon , that virtue cannot be

" compleac

286 SERMON IX.

" coinpleat without Piety, fince, where this « is wanting^ there can neither be the iame *' Benignity, Firmnefs or Conftancy, the fame " good Compofure of the Affedlions , or U- *' niformity of Mind. And thus the per- " fed:ion and height of virtue, (even in his " judgment ) muft be owing to the behef of « a God."

And now upon the whole, if that abhor- rence and fpleen^ which he allows to be the natural refult of Atheifm^ be indeed a plague and punilhment to him that falls under it, as it certainly is ; then men have reafon to dread the confequences of fuch an opinion, which can promile no good, and may be the caufe of many unforefeen evils, as long as the mind it felf fliall exift. And if, moreover, the Su- preme Governour of the world cannot but te- ftify his favour and difpleafure, according as' rational creatures ad:, for or againft the obli- gations of their rational nature, then this fa- vour or difpleafure mull Ihew themfelves fome time or other, in different efJeds upon thole rational Agents, according as they ufe their natural liberty of ading, well or ill ; unlefs we imagine, that moral perfedions in the Di- vine, or fupreme. Being, have no manner of analogy to moral perfed;ions in other rational

Beings,

SERMON IX. 287

Beings, which is to deftroy all manner of Ar- gument from the Nature of things.

So that both from the confideration of the natural and nccelTary difference of Good and Evil, and the different conlequences refultino; from them ; and alfo from the confideration of the moral Attributes and perfc<5]:ions of the Supreme Being, different events of different actions, and of different habitual regards to- wards that Supreme Being, are juflly to be ex- pected by every rational Agent. But if, by reafbn of the great mixture, variety and com- plication of Cafes, thefe Events cannot at pre- fentbe applied diftindtly, in jufl: proportion, to every particular man, as we plainly fee in tad:, they neither are nor can be ; then it is no way inconfiftent with divine Goodnefs, how infi- nite foever, to fufi^r fuch diftincftion, as is a- greeable to the moral Attributes of the Deity, to have its due effed; hereafter ; that is, to af- fign a future time of rewarding and punilh- ing, wherein every thing fliall be as well ad- jufted in the moral world, as we can now dis- cover things to be in the natural.

This is reafonable to be expedted, from the cleared notions we can frame of divine pcr- fedion :

Bur

288 SERMON iX.

But how it will be done particularly, wd rauft either be ignorant till that time comes i when the diftincSion fliall be finally made, and the prcfent complication of things unfolded ; or we muft, in the mean time, learn it from the divine Being bimfelf , fbriie way dilcover- ing his defign or will to us in this matter.

And this will naturally lead us to confider, whether he has made any particular difcovery of his will to man ; that is, whether there bb really any fuch thing as a divine Revelation. Of which Matter, I fhall, with God's affi- ftance, fpeak farther hereafter.

SERMON

<i:

SERMON X.

Preached February t\\c i^ i7\l*

Ifaiah ii. 3.

And many people Jhall go ^ and fay ^ Come ye , and let us go up to the mount am of the Lord ^ to the houfe of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his zvays , and we will walk in his paths -^ for cut ^/Zion Jhall go forth the law^ and the word of the Lord from jcrufalem.

T may be qbferyed, that thefe yerjr

words, as alTo thoie which ^

before, and thole which follow

them, are made ufe of by the

U Prophet

\^^

■M

290 SERMON X.

Prophet Micdh % who lived in the fame agcf with this Prophet Jfaiah ; which makes them the more remarkable. And that they are a prophecy, relating to the times of the Meflias, at kingdom of Chrift, as is evident, from thar mention of the laji days with which they are" introduced, is, I fiippofe, generally agreed. And that they are intended, to fignify fucb a difpofition in mens minds, and fuch a ftatc" of things,, when many people of different na^^ tions fiiould be inquifitive about that r^velath on of the Will of God, which was to have its beginning among the people of the Jews^ ij plain from the words rhemfelves. But my de- flgn, at prefenr, is not to enquire exadly, ei- ther into the particular time to which the(€ words of the Prophets immediately refer, oi into the particular manner in which they arc mofl: compleatly fulfilled, under the Golpe dilpenfation ; whether at the firft promulga- tion of it, which begun from Jerufalem^ or a! the further bringing in of the reft of the Gen- tile world, with the more full and entire con- verfion of the JewSy to the Faith of Chrift : w^hich from many pafTages , both of the Old and New Teftament, is juftly expecSted to be

accomr

» Mic. iv. 2.

SERMON X. 2pr

accompliOied one time or other, as the pro- vidence of God fliall make way for it.

What I now intend, is only to make ufe of the words with a more general view, as they exprcfs a fmcere defire in rhany different peo- ple, of being better informed in the mind and will of God , by fome particular Revelation from himfclf, than they could be by the mere Datural light of their own minds, refledling only upon the general works of Creation and Providence. And from viewing them in this light, I iliall take occafion to oblerye the fol- lowing particulars.

i. That eviry Rational man, who believes a God and a Providence governing the world, is under a natural obligation, to ei/quire whe- ther God has made any particular Revelation of his will to men, which they are any way concerned to take notice of.

II. That whoever feriouily makes this en- quiry, will find it reafbnable to coticlude, that ibme Revelation may juflly be expected from God, confidering the general ftate of mankind.

in. That if this be fb, then it is every man*s duty, to u(e all the proper means he cail, to find out what is triie Revelation, and what is only pretended.

U % I. That

2^2 SERMON X.

I. That every Rational man, who believes a God and a Providence governing the world, is under a natural obligation to enquire, whe- ther God has made any particular Revelation of his will to men, which they are any way concerned to take notice of. This propofiti- ©n may perhaps, at the firft fight, feem to be altogether needlels, as containing only an af^ fertion , which no one will offer ferioufly to deny : But I am afraid, that in fa<5t, much of that which goes under the name o{T>eifm^ in the world, has at the bottom no other foun- dation, but either what may be juftly counted a virtual denial of this affertion, or what will in the end revert to downright y^^^^//^ ; that is, fuch men as affed the name of T>eijisy in oppofitton to all revealed Religion > either mean nothing more than mere Atheifm by it, but only to avoid, the trouble of confidering. the force of fuch arguments , as lie (Irong a- gainft the plain denial of the Being of a God; and lb by feeming to allow them , they are willing to wave all oppofition of that kind : Or elib, if they do in truth believe the Argu- ments for his Being, to be conclufive, and yet make no enquiry after his will, they muft then believe his Exiftence only as a Speculative

point J

SERMON X. 293

point ; which is indeed true in it fclf, but which, they think, does not put them under any obligation of adling one way or other, in confequence of it. This kind of Deiiin is, i confefs, but one remove from Atheifm it felf ; becaule, though it owns a God, who is the Governour of the natural world, yet at the fame time it confiders him, as having little or no concern for the moral world , or. the adbions of men, confider'd as moral or ratio- nal Agents ; which is in conlequence, a de- nying or not owning of his moral Attributes. Upon this confideration therefore, to convince fuch men of their obligation to enquire after the will of God, we muft firft defire them to confider. That Juftke^ Goodnefs^ Truths and all moral perfedtions, are as efTcntial to the notion of God, or Supreme Intelligent Being, as W'tfdom or Tower ; for they are indeed the neceffary confequences of infinite Wifdom and Power. It cannot be denied, but that there are different things in the world, which have different powers and properties, different kinds and degrees of perfedions ; and from hence, in the very nature of things, arife different relations of one thing to another, and a fitncfs or unfitnefs, according as different things are applied or mifapplied to one another. And

U 3 there

254 SERMON X.

there is the fame natural difference , and na- tural confequence of that difference, firnefs or unfirnefs, in all adions of every Being which can be properly called 2,n Agent.

Now an infinitely wife Being, who prefervc? all thefe things in their proper natures , cer- tainly knows all thefe different relations of things and actions, with their refpedtive fit- neffes and conlequences ; or elfe his under- flanding would be imperfedi: and finite. And he does as evidently will that they fliould be as they are, becaufe he prefcrves them in their Beings; and his will cannot be influenced by any wrong affcdion, railed by any temptati- on from without, to do otherwife than what he knows to be, that is, w hat really is, beft andfittefl: to be done; becaufe he is indepen- dent and Omnipotent. So that Goodiiefs, Ju- fiice^ Truths and all moral perfedlions, mufl be in the Divine nature, unlels we can fnppofe, that he wills the natures of things, to be as they are, and not to be as they are, at the fam.e time, which is a manifeft contradidiipn.

Again, Goodnefs ^ in any Free or Rational Being, is nothing t\{^ but a will or difpofiti- on, to communicate happinels or Good to o-r ther Beings, according to their Capacities. IS^ow to communicate Being it {z% and a Gapa- . city

SERMON X. 2^5

city of enjoying happinefs, or good, accord- ing to that variety of natures, which infinite Wifdom thought fit to make, is the very ori- ginal and foundation of all Goodnefs ; and to communicate this farther, according to thole different improvements which InteUigent and Ad:ive Beings make, by virtue of that liberty of acting, which is eflential to their nature, is a continuation of that Goodnefs. So that, ijj comparifon of all other Beings which are called good, we may truly lay, with our Sa- viour, that there is none good ( that is origi- nally and clTenrially fo) but God only.

Juftice and Equity are nothing clfe but the application of the proper confequenccs of adi* ons to the perfons adling; that is, a willing that the original and eflential differences of things and adions, and their relations and fic- neffes to one another, fliould be entirely pre- fcrved throughout. Now the Supreme Being, >vho knows all things, and underflands all a<Stions ; that is, judges of them juft as they are, will ad: accordingly , without partiality or relped of perfons ; his infinite wiidom and power, letting him above all poflibilrty of be- ing either deceived, or overruled in his ading. And for the fame reafon. Truth and Faithful- ness are necefTarily Attributes of the lame di-

V 4 vine

29^ SERMON X.

Vine Being , who can neither be miftaken iii his defigns, nor hindred from doing what he intends. And the hke may be faid of all other moral perfedions. For, in ihort, the want of, or failure in , any moral perfection , muft> proceed, either from a defect of underftand- ing, that is, from apprehending things to be otherwife than they really are ; or from a want of power to ad; according to the nature of things; or from perverfenefs of will difpo- fing him to ad contrary, to the true reafoii, or nature and fitnefs of things : but an eternal, intelligent, independent Being, infinitely wile and powerful, can be liable to none of thefe ; for the two firft cafes are diredly, and the lad, by necelTary confequcnce, a contradidi- on to infinite Wifdom and Power.

From hence it follows, that the moral per^ fedions of all Creatures muft be finite and li- mited, and capable of continual improvement, according to the extent of their wifdom and power ; but the moral perfedions of the Su- preme Being, or Firft caufe of all things, mufl be infinite and ablblute. But then it does no6 from thence follow, that Goodne/s, Jujiice\ Truth , and other moral perfedions , are in their nature or kind, quite different things in the divine Being, from what they are in other

rational

SERMON X. 297

national Beings, but only in degree. And this ought to be the more carefully obferved , be- eaufe, if Goodnep, Truth and Jujiice^ and the like moral Attributes which we afcribe to God -Almighty, be not the fame for kind, as they are in thofe Idea's which we frame of the like perfections in rational creatures , or in our abilraded realbnings about them from the nature of things ; then it is in vain to rea- ibn at all about them : Since, upon fuch fup- pofition, when we fay, God is jujf, or good, or true, we can have no meaning at all, be- caule we have no notion or idea of any thing anfwering to the words w^e utter : And this would effedlually deftroy the foundation, not only of Religion but of all Morality. It certainly takes away all manner of reafbning about the Divine Nature. For the natural At- tributes of God, his Underftanding and Power, iare as much above us, as his moral Attributes or Perfections, and our Idea's of them as im- perfecSt ; fo that if we cannot reafon from the one, we cannot realbn from the other.

Thofe men therefore, who pretend to mag- nify Reafon fo much, fhould confider very well what it is, before they admit fuch a fup- pofition, which in efTed: dcftroys all ufe of ' Reafon

2^8 SERMON X. .

Realbn itfelf. For if true Reafon be nothing elfe but the real nature of things, and their relations and proportions to one another tru- ly apprehended in the mind to be as they arc in themfelves, then it inuft b,e the fame for kind in all Intelligent Beings ; or elfe in effedfc the fame will be true and not true at the fame time, which is a plain contradidion. Of two different Minds or Underftandings, which are of vaftly different abilities one above another, one may apprehend a great many more things, together with their natures, confequences and relations, than the other does, which is of lels capacity, and fo can reafori further ; but thofe things which both of them apprehend clearly, diftiudly and truly, as they are in them- felves, they mud necefTarily fo far apprehencj alike, or elfe there never could be aiiy rea: foning at all from the nature of things.

Upon this principle therefore} That true Reafon, as far as it reaches, is of the fam^ kind in all intelligent Beings, Tully very juft- ly lays the foundation of the Law of Nature, which is nothing elfe but the Eternal Reafon of things, which mufl always be the fame a3 long as things themfelves exift. And to this purpofe are thefe and the like expreflions in

his

SERMON X. 299

his firfl book T>e Legibus.^ Since there is nothing more excellent than Reafon, which is the fame in Man and in God^ the firfl re^ iation (or fociety) between God and Man^ is, that of Reafon : And if reafon be common to both^ right Reafon isfe: which being the Law (of Nature) then there is a Law in which both agree. And again, *^ Virtue (or moral PerfccStion) is the fame in Man as in the "Divine Being. For Virtue is nothing elfe but nature advanced to its highefl per- fe^ion. There is therefore (in this) a re- femblance between God and Man. Now this is the fame, in efFed:, as to fay, that Man^ in his raofl: perfed; ftate, is made after the /- mage of God. And much to the fame pur- pole in his fecond book T)e Legibus, he tells us, "^ This is the judgment of the wifeft men

among

^ bit igitur, quoniam nihil eft ratione melius, eaque &; ia honiirie & in Deo, prima homini cum Deo rationis focietas. Inter qijos autem Ratio, inter eofdem etiam recfla ratio communis eft : Quae ciiiii fit lex, lege quoque confociati homines cum Diis putandi fumus, ^c.

^ Jam veto virtus eadem in homine ac Deo eft, neque ulio alio ingenio prasterea. Eft autem virtus nihil aliud quam in fe perfedla & ad fummum perdufta natura. Eft igitur homirti cum Deo fimilitudo, err.

^ Hanc igitur video l^apientiffimorum fuifTe fentcntiam, kgem neque hgmini^m ingeniis excogitatam, nequc fdtmn

aliquod

300 SERMON X.

among the Ancients^ that Law (i. c. Law aatural) is not any human device^ ordinance^ or decree of any people or flat e^ but fomething Bternat which governs the whole worlds a ferfeB W'tfdom in commanding what is fit and forbidding the contrary. So, they faidy that principal and fiipreme Law was the Mind of God himfelf commanding or pro- hibiting every thing, according to exa6i rea- fin and the nature of things. From whence that Law, which God has given to mankind^ Aerives its juft commendation, it being the 'very reafon and mtderjianding of one truly ^ji'ifi, which has a natural aptitude to direB what is fit to be enjoined or forbidden. And ^gain he fays/ The force or power, of this fupreme Law, is not only of older date than

any

aliquod effe populorum, fed aeternum quiddam, quod uni- Terfum mundum regeret, imperandiprohibendique.fapientia. Ita principem legem illam 8c ultimam, mentem efle dicebant omnia ratione, aut cogentis, aut vetantis Dei : ex qua ilia lex quam Diihumano generi dederunt, refte eft laudata: eft enim ratio menfque fapientis ad jubendum & ad deterrendum idonea.

e Quae vis non modo fenior eft quam aetas populorum & civitatum, fed aequalis illius caelum atque terras tuentis &: regentis Dei : neque enim efle Mens Divina fine ratione poteft, nee ratio divina non banc vim in redis pravifque fanciendis habere.

SERMON X. 301

any people or community of men^ but is co- aval with God hmfelf\ who preferves and governs heaven and earth : For neither can the Divine Mind be otherwife than rat ion al^ nor can the T)ivine Reafon exift without ha- ving this power or property of giving a fan- Bion to the difference between Good and Evil. And then obferviug, that fome par- ticular worthy and unworthy adions there mentioned, were in rhemfelves good or evi), before any written Law defcribing them to be fuch, by virtue of that antecedent, inward and eternal Law of Reafon, he adds, ^ thac it was Reafon^ proceeding from the nature of things y prompting to do right and refrain- ing from doing wrongs zvhich did not then commence a Law when it was firft pnt into writings but when it had its firf original : Now it had the fame original with the 2)/- vine Mind or ^nderftanding. From whence lie makes this conclufion, ^ IVherefore that true and fupr erne Law, which has a proper

fitnefs

f Erat enim ratio profeda a reruin natura , & ad rec'^e ta- eiendum irnpellens & a delicto avocans : qua non turn dc- nique incipit lex effe cum fcripta eft, fed turn cum orta ell , orta autem fimul eft cum mente divina.

g Quamobrem lex vera atque princeps, apta ad jubendura & ad vetandum, ratio eft reifta fummi Jovis.

302 SERMON X.

fitnefs to command and forbid^ is the right (or perfed) Reafon of the Supreme Being. ^ I have been the more particular in taking notice of this opinion of Tttlly in the matter before us, not only becaufe he himfelf lays great ftrefs upon it, and likewife affirms it to be the judgment of the wileft Heathens be- fore him, in deducing the true nature of Laws from their original : But alfo becaufe it plain- ly ihews, that thofe men who now pretend to be Deifts, i. e. to believe a God and a Pro- vidence over the natural world, and yet ima- gine, either that he is no way concerned a- bout the nature and confequences of human / adbions, or that we can have no fuch true notion of his moral Attributes as to argue a- ny thing from them, are not yet advanced fb far in the knowledge of the true grounds, ei- ther of Natural Religion or Morality, as Thinking Men among the Heathens were.

And

h And to this purpofe there is a large pajfage out of his -^d Xook de Republica, preferved to us l>y Ladlantius (lii^. 6. de Vero cultu, cap. S ) in which he declares the Eternity and Im- mutability of this Law, and concludes after this manner : •— Unufque erit communis quafi magifter, & imperator omnium Deus ille, legis hujus inventor, difceptator, lator : cui qui non parebit, ipfe fe fugiet ac naturam hominis afper- pabitur, atquehcc ipfo luet maximas poenas, etiamli caetera fupplicia, quae putantur, efFugerit<

SERMON X. 303

And much lefs can they have any notion of governing themfelves by luch a precept as that of our blelTed Saviour in the Gofpel, of being perfe^ as our Heavenly Father is perfett^ ' unlefs it be firft owned, that we are capable of underftanding what the moral Perfedions of God, which we lliould endea- vour to imitate, fignify, by their being of the fame nature with the correipondent perfedtious in men.

But now, if moral perfedions, fuch as G^^?^/- nefs^ Juftice and Truths do neceffarily be- long to the Supreme InteUigent Being. And if we can have any true notion of fuch per- fecStions, we may then juftly argue, that God Almighty does always ad: according to thofe perfedions, efpecially in his deaUngs with Rational Creatures, capable of underftanding what thofe perfedions mean : and confequent- ly that he confiders the adions of Rational and Free Agents, according to their moral nature, as they are good or evil ; that is, as they agree or difagree with the eternal rules of Goodnefs, Juftice and Truth : and that he

relpeds

muTt; ec^trr, umO^m.th >^ ©f y • SioTea yiv£o^ riXetoi ug 0 STxriif iixui a i^xyt^TiXei'oc, eV*, hS'xTKoy.zix, &C. Or igen. contra Ctlf, hit. 4. fag. 180.

204 SERMON X.

refpedts them accordingly, and will in due time make liich a proper diftmdion between them, as will evidently declare and vindicate his own moral perfed:ions. For if he is the Governor of the whole world, that is, of the Rational as well as Natural world, he will govern it according to thele perfections which are infeparable from an infinitely perfed: rea- fonable Being. This is allowed to be a rea- fonable way of arguing, even by ^ Cotta the Academic in Tully, in that very difcourle where he is endeavouring to render the Stoical arguments, for Providence over Human Af- fairs, uncertain and ineffectual. But then we muft not from hence conclude, that he does not thus govern the world, only becaufe at prefent we do not fee this difference, which we expert from the nature of moral Good and Evil, entirely and finally made by an imme- diate application of confequent Rewards and Puniihments, in proportion to the reipedive behaviour of every Rational or Free Agent. For we muft remember, that we cannot fee

the

''iUt enim necdomus, nee refpublica ratione quadam & difciplina defignata videatur fi in ea nee rede fadtis pisemia exftent ulla, nee fupplicia peccatis, fie mundi divina in ho- mines moderatio profedto nulla eft, fi in ea diferimen nullum eft bonorum &maloram. Cic. de Nat. Deor, lib. 3. cap. 35. I

SERMON X. 30^

the full extent of his Government, but only a very Ihiall part of it ; and therefore though we may argue, from the perfedion of his na- ture, that he loves Righteoufnefs and hateS Iniquity, and confequently will, iii the ifTuS of things, treat them after a different niianner ; yeit the Revelation of his righteous Judgment is not confined to fo ihort a time, or withitt fo narrow a compafs, as the execution of hu- man juftice mufl be, which is limited by time and place, and muft either exert itfelf at pre- fent, or not at all. And from hence it hap- pens, that Jujiice^ Goodjiefs, and other moral excellencies in men, (even in the beft human Governors) do often intrench upon and limk one another, fo that they cannot all be fdlly exercifed, for want of fufficient compafs to exert themfelves altogether, and for want bf fufficient powet and khowledge of things irt the agent. But God's Government is infinite and eternal, not limited by time or place ; fo that his Goodnefs and Juftice, and every 6- ther perfedtion, may each of them have their full exercife, and not interfere with ohe an- other : and the due effedls of each may take place in fuch feafon as infinite wifdom less moft proper. Therefore before we can pals an exa(^ judgment upon the juftice and good-

3o6 SERMON X.

nefs of his Governmenr, we muft lee the whole fcheme of Providence unfolded, and all the various dependences of things, upon one another, fet in a true light. We mud wait for the final ifTue of things, and when that is come, we may depend upon it, that the whole management will appear juft and good, even according to our moft natural notions of Juftice and Goodnefs ; that is, ac- cording to the truth and realbn of things all fairly dated together.

If what I have hitherto faid, concerning the Moral Perfections of the Divine Being and their exercife, fhould be thought a di- greflion from the defign of that propofition upon which I firft begun ; I defire it may be confidered, that, unlefs we be fully perluaded of the certainty of thofe Attributes of Qod, and of the reafonablenefs of arguing from them^ we cannot have any firm and ftable founda- tion of our own moral obligations in refped: of him: becaufc we do then in effect lliut out the Divine Being from having any relation to us, as we are men, i. e. moral or rational and free Agents; inafmuch as we do by confequence deny either him or our feives to be fuch A- gents. But on the contrary, if our Rational Nature is f© derived from the Divine Nature

as

SERMON X. 307

as to bear a relemblance to it, in its capacity of acting freely according to the nature of things ; this gives u§ a moral relation to God hiraleif, ^ a relation of a quite different kind from that of all other creatures, which have no knowledge of him. He is indeed the Au- thor of their Being, as well as of ours ; and he governs them t3y his Wildom and Power in a way fuitable to their nature, though they are not capable of reflcd:iug upon it. But he is a Governor of Men and all Rational Beings in a fenle vaftly fuperior, as they are capable of knowing him, and the relation they bear to him ; and by knowing ic. Own an obliga- tion of willingly conforming themfelves to the Laws of his Government, which are the eter- nal dicStates of right Reafon.

Upon this foundation therefore I think we may juftly build that natural obligation, which

X X every

'.Nam quod aliquibus cohaerent homines, e mortali ge- nere fumpferunt quae fragilia eflent & caduca : Animum effe ingeneratum a Deo, ex quo vere vel agnatio nobis cum cje- leftlbus, vel genus, vel ftirps appellari poteft. Itaque ex tot generibus nullum eft animal praeter hominem quod habeat

notitiam aliquam Dei. Ex quo efficitur illud ut is agnof-

cat Dcum qui unde ortus fit quafi recordetur ac nofcat. Jam vero virtus eadem in homine ac Deo eft, neque ullo alio in-

genio prasterea. Eft igitur homini cum Deo fimilitudc;

Quod cum ita fit, quse tandem poteft cfTe propior certi6rve cognatfo. Cic. de Legs- ^'^- '•

3o8 SERMON X.

every Rational man, who believes a God and a Providence governing the world, is under, to enquire, whether God has made any par- ticular Revelation of his will, which men cail be any way concerned to take notice of.

For if we are perfliaded , by the Light of Nature and Reafon, that there is a Supreme Being who made and preferves u<j, and from whorii we received our reafbnable nature, whereby we are capable of owning him ; the fame light will convince us, that there is a natural duty of Gratitude owing from us to this Supreme Benefactor. And "" if we are not affedted withafenie of Gratitude for thele benefits, which, even in the natural courle of things, we conftantly receive from Providence^ we are not (in Tully's judgment) to be reck- oned in the number of men, that is, of rea- fonable creatures. But now, fince the Divine Nature is infinitely perfedt and happy in it- it% wherein can any gratitude towards him approve itfelf ? Not in giving him any thing by way of return, becaufe he is already pol- fefs'd of all things; but in a juit acknowledg-

__________ menc

"' Quera vero aftroruni oidincs, qacm dieium nodium- que viciffitudines, quern menlium temperatio, quemque ea, quae gignuntur nobis ad fruendum, non gratum effe cogunt, hunchominem omEino numerare qui decct ? Cic de Lejfg, lib. 2.

SERMON X. 30^

meat of his infinite perfedions, and in wor- thily ixceiving and ufing what his goodnefs gives us ; that is, in imploying all the powers and faculties, which he has given us, accord- ing to his will and defign, however it be made known to us. And fince, from the confide- ration of the moral perfedions of his nature, we are afTured, that he himfelf chufes to ad; according to the higheft Reafon ; and fmce it mud alio be his will, that all rational crea- tures fhould chufe the fame, that is, in effecSt, fhould defire and endeavour, that their wills ihould be direded by his will, which is there- fore abfolutely perfed , becaufc it always chufes according to that infinite and unerring wifdom, which knows what is beft and fitted to be done in every cafe that can happen, both with refped to the prefent time and all futurity : Upon thefe confiderations we are certainly obliged, in reafon, to be as much acquainted with the will of God as we can ; and therefore to confider of every poflible way, whereby we may come to the know- ledge of it.

For thus we may argue. A conflant dif- pofition to do according to the will of God, upon whom we depend for our Being, and for all our powers and faculties of ading, is

X 3 aa

3IO SERMON X.

an abfolutely fit andrcafonable inftance of our gratitude towards him. This is the very per- fedioii of Tietyy which we may, with"21r<^//^, call Jufiice towards God ; fince it is nothing elfe but afcribing to him, in the mod effedual manner, that honour of his infinite perfe- idtions, which is juftly due to him, by con- forming our felves to them. Now this difpo- fition, to conform our felves conftantly to the will of God, muft necefiarily include, or prefuppole, an endeavour to know what this will is, and by confequence to enquire, what ways he has thought fit to make any part of it known to us: [unlefs we are before hand certain, that it is impoflible for him to dif- cover it any other way, but this one which we call the way of nature, ° which, as I ihall jiave occafion to iliew hereafter, we can- not be]

For though we may depend upon it, as his will, that we ihould never ad: contrary to the Rules of Goodnefs, Truth and Juftice, be- caufe whatever is evidently contrary to thefc^ contradicts his very nature, and cannot be his

will ;

" Eft enim Pietas Juftitia adverfum Decs, Cic. de Nat. Bear am, lib. i. cap. 41.

o See the following Sermon^

SERMON X. 311

will; and though he has given us the faculty of Reafon, whereby to diftinguiili Good from evil, and a liberty to chufe according to that diflindtion ; ycr, bccaufc our Underflandings are limited, fo that we are not always able prefenrly to fee that entire connection which oneacftion has with another, but, without the utmoft attention, may be apt to miftake ap- pearances for truth, and to ad; accordingly, (efpecially in matters of Religion or inter- courfe with the Divine Being) whereby we may run into great confufion, as we fee in fad: the greatefl: part of mankind have done : We cannot but think it reafonable, to wiili or defire a more particular dfredion, if it may be hacf, from that Being himfelf, who cannot be miftaken. And this at lead ought to put us upon enquiry, Whether this Being has, any where, made any fuch difcovery, as will ei- ther give us greater light into our duty, or dired: us to better afliftance or clearer motives to the (teady performance of it. And here it was that the generality of Mankind firft begun to fail. Even the Philofophers themfelves, of almoft all Sed:s, negleded to feek after God in this re/ped:. They did not glorify him as God, by owning his moral pcrfcdions to fuch a degree as they ought to

X 4 have

312 SERMQN X,^

have done. Their Piety feldom went lb hx as either to pray unto him, or give him thanks fqt their own improvement in virtue or moral perfecStion. In this they depended too mucji ppon themfelves and their own natural abiU- ties, and made their chief appHcation to the Deity only for things of an inferior nature. Their opinion was too much likp that of the Poa^

—Satis eft orarejovem qua dmat (g aufert ; ^et vitam^ det opes : {eqdum rni animum tp- fi faruho.

And CottG^ in ^ Tully^ reprefents it as a general dodrine : Virtutem nemo unquam accept am ^eo retulit : i. e. No man thinks himfeif beholding to God for his Virtue : And he com- mends the opinion as rights hecaufe (fays he) to be^'trtmus is jiift matter of prmfcy which it could not be if it were the gift of God-, with much more to the fame purpofe, which he fumms up after this manner, Judicium hoc cmnium mortalium efty fortunam a T^eo pe- tefidam^ afe ipfo fumendam ejfe fapientiam. And thus, according to St.Taul, ^rofejfmg^

' them-

P Horat. Ep. i8. lib. i, q Be Nat. Bear. I. -^.cap.-^O.

SERMON X. 315

them/elves wife^ they became fools ; and by forfaking the true knowledge of God, they were led away po all manner of immorality. For as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge^ God gave them over to a repro- bate mind: a mind that could not fufficiently diftinguifli between good and evil, but eafily drawn to do thofi things which are not con- venient.

The fatal conlequence which attended this negledt of application to God, for true wif- dom to dired: men in the moral condudi: of their lives, may fhew us our obligation, in in- tereft as well as duty, to enquire ferioufly. Whether God has any way afforded means of further light, than what we our felves can colledt from unaffilted natural Reaibn, to di- red: us in attaining the utmoft knowledge of his will. And this Ihould now lead me to con- fider the fecond thing which I propoied to (peak to, viz>.

II. That whoever ferioujly makes this en-- qutry^ will find it reafonable to conclude^ that fome Revelation mayjnfily be expeBed from God^ confidering the general fate of mankind.

But

314 SERMON X.

. But becaufe I cannot go through with the full confideration of this at prelent, I ihall forbear to enter upon it ; and fhall rather chufe to conclude this difcourfe with an ear- ned exhortation, to all llich as, by the prin- ciples of Reafbn, are convinced of the Being of God and his moral Attributes, That they would live up to this Light of their own Rea- fon in their further enquiry after the Revela- tion of the Will of God.

•Tis owned on all hands, that PafTion, and Prejudice, and Partiality, arifing from unruly lufts and appetites of any kind, are great im- pediments to the finding and embracing of Truth, efpecially fuch Truth as is likely to contradid; thofe prevailing PafTions. And therefore, if we are honeft and fincere in our fcarches after Truth, we muft firft free our felves from thefe impediments, that is, we mufl: live fb as not to have any biafs upon our minds againft the pradlice of Religion, if, upon en- quiry, we ihould find reafon to believe its principles true. This is but a very reafon able thing to defire, of thofe who allow thefleady pradtice of all virtue to be the happinefs and perfection of human nature, at the lame time that they qucflion or doubt of the truth of all ReveaUd Religion, as divers of the Hea- then

SERMON X. 315

then Philofophers held, and fome of thofe who pretend to be their great admirers would (till leera to hold. Such men cannot fay, that we deilre any thing of them againft their own profefs'd interefl. Nay, confidering the, advantage, which the belief of the principles of Religion inay be of, to fupport them un- der any untoward circumft^nces of dilcourage- ment, one would think they could hardly take it amifs of us, if we fliould even entreat them to admit thole principles, for probable at lead, and to prad:ife accordingly, till by ierious enquiry they could difcover them to be falfe. But fome men are fo perverle, as to interpret any thing of this kind to be an un* jufl: prejudice in favour of Religion. An Au- thor, whom I have had occafion formerly to mention, tells us,'^ That " It is themoftbeg- " garly refuge imaginable, which is fb migh- " tily cry'd up, and (lands as a great maxim '' with many able men. That they jhotild " ftrtve to have Faith and believe to the " utmofi : becaufe if after all, there be no- '•^ thijig in the matter, there will be no harm " in being thus deceived ; but if there be " any things it will be fatal for them not to

" have

»■ Charaflfr'iftics Letter concerning Enthuftafmt fag. 36.

31^ SERMON X.

**^ have believed to the full. Bur, ffays he) " they are fo far miftaken, that whilfl: they have '' this thought, 'tis certain they can never be- " iieve, either to their fatisfad;ion and happi- " nefs in this world, or with any advantage " of recommendation to another. For befides *' tfiat our Reafon, which knows the cheat, " will never reft thorougly iacisfied on fuch a " boitora, but turn us oiten a drift, and tols " us ip ^ fea of doybt and perplexity ; we " cannot but adually grow worlein Religion, *' and eptertain a worle opinion ftill of a fu- " preme T)eity^ whilft our behef is founded " on {p injurious a Thought of him.

Now ipdeed, if tliofe able men^ as he calls them in way of derifion, had either defired us to believe againft pur own certain know- ledge, or had, by pretence of this Argument, difcouraged us fropi enquiring into the grounds of Religion , or the motives to believe it; then there might have been forae colour for this untoward Refledion. But when they only reprefent the cafe of Religion as it really flands, VIZ. That the principles of it give a juft profpedt of great advantage, both prefent and future, to the mind of man , if they be true, and be believed, and in practice owned to be fo ; and that there can be no poffiblc

difad^

SERMON X. 317

difadvanrage, in the future at leart, ro fuch as are willing to live virtuoufly, from the prcfcnt belief of them, even though they ihould in the end pfove to have been in a miitake ; I can- not lee how we could realbnably advilc a wile man to a61: orhcrwifc than on the fafe fide, till he could, to his own ihtisfacSbion, evident- ly prove, that the contrary was true. For this is, in cffed:, only defiring him not to conclude them abfolutely falfe, at the fame time that he owns they may poffibly be true. That we cannot believe to our full fat hf a B mi or hap- fhiefs 'while we doubt ^ I readily grant ; but what is this to the Argument ? For we mufl: either believe the fundamental principles of Religion to be true or falfe, or elfe we muft be doubtful about them. Now though there be no fatisfadtion in being doubtful, yet there may be fbme hope, though mixed with fear ; and this will be fome comfort to a man's mind, fo long as he keeps honeftly to that fide where the hope lies. But thofe who believe them falfe , can pretend to no hope at all of what will be hereafter, but that of utter cx- tindtion ; and what comfort can there be in that, even at prefent, but only to thofe who are already incurably miferable, and mnft be fo as lo^ig as they do exifl: ? This is certainly a very

unhappy

3i8 SERMON X.

unhappy cure for doubt and perplexiryj which can never mend our cafe while we are fenfible of it. Admitting the opinion ofthofe, who think that death puts an utter end to our be- ing j to be true, what ground can it give them (as ^Tully^^y^) either of joy or boaji- ing? If therefore there be no entire fatisfa- dtion, in doubting about the Being of a Provi- dence, and a future State ; nor any comfort to a rational mind, in the utter disbehef of them : Then certainly, if we could by any means arrive at a full perfuafion of the Truth of them, it would be a very defirable thing. And therefore to apply this Argument, to perfiiade men not to be unconcerned in the fe- rious and honefl: examination of the grounds of Religion, nor to be obflinate, in Handing out againft reafonable evidence, even though it ihould fall fhort of flrid: demonftration, is no putting a cheat upon our Reafon^ becaufe there is a necefTity of adting one way or o- ther. Nor can I fee, how it is any injurious thought of the T)eity ^ for a man to think it more for his happinefs, to believe that there

is

* Prseclarum autem nefcio quid adepti funt qui didicerunt, ^■, cum tempus mortis veniflet, totos ede perituros. Quod

ut fit quid habet ifta res aut Isefabile aut gloriofum I

Cic. Tufcul. Difp. lib. i. ca^.zi.

SERMON X. 31^

h fuch an infinitely perfed: Being, than not, even while he doubts of his Exiftence, (fup- pofing it poflible, for a man honclily to doubt of it). Is it any diihonourto that Beings for us to think, that if he do exift at all, he is lb good as to make it our intereft to believe his Exiftence ? or is \x. any means of making us entertain a 'worfe op'tnton of the T)eity , to believe that the moral perfed:ions of Jujiicey Goodnefs and Truth, belong to him, and that he makes a real diftindtion between good and evil, if he govern the world ?

I have been induced to take notice of this pafTage, becaufe it feems to be direcStly point- ed at an Argument, which fome of the bell and moil: judicious writers ( both "^ Heathens and Chrift'tans) have made ufe of to perliiade

men,

"^ of Heathen Authors I JJ)all only mention Tully <i»iPlato. Tully, befides the fore-nientiontd place in his Tufculan Que- Itions, hasalfo this pajjage in the condufton of his Cato major. His mihi rebus, (i.e. from feveral conftderations depending up- on the Soul's immortality) levis eft fenedus, nee Iblum non molefta fed etiam jucunda. Quod fi in hoc erro, quod ani- mos hominum immortales eiFe crcdam, lubenter erro : Nee mihi hunc erroreni quo deledlor, dum vivo, extorqueri volo. Sin mortuus (ut quidam minuti philofophi cenfent) nihil fentiam, non vereor ne hunc errorem meum mortui philofo- phi irrideant. To this purpofe, Plato, in the perfon of Socn- tcs, in divtrs places, particularly in ^i;Phaedo, pa^. 91. Ed.

Strrani.

320 SERMON X.

men, not to be averle to the belief of a Go(5 and a Future State, taken from the advantages of that belief both to virtue and happinefs, even luppofing the cafe to be only probable , or as yet doubtful. And whatever the ad- mirers of this Author inky think, there is fb juft a foundation in reafbn for this way of ar- guing, that it will nbt be the lefs itfed or va^ lued by any confiderate man, for the unwor- thy refledion which he has made upon it. And, indeed, to do him right, when he is in abetter humour, he himfelf is pleafed to make ule of the fame argument in cfFedt , though put into other words, [in his Enquiry con- cerning Virtue'] when he tells us, " that By virtue of the BELIEF of a world tocome^ a man may detain his Virtue^ even under tBe^

bardefl

vrt4* « ^i ftTi^sy fVi veXiiliT^irctvTi , u>i~' fc'v 7^»tov ye r %g9vev «J- CT'C. And again, fag. 114. 'A»v« nirm ^z itex-a x?^ av Sn^v-

fXov'f'' »i^e^' <*^' fi^To/ I? tcwr* «V'» i' TOt^r* ost?* arta* raj ■vi-v^ws ^*jt«» 5^' '■«5 ii>^V<reii, «V«Vf^ dSdvcCToi yt >?' i^t;;^;.! ^^'"0

SERMON X: 321

hardefi thoughts of Human nature. And Ipeaking oi Religious ^ffeBibn, he fays, rhac ''^ if the fubje6f and ground of this divine paffion.be not really juji or adequate^ (the Hyp.othefis ofTheifm^ t. e. the Exiftence of a God, being fuppofed fiilfej the paffon fill ijt, it felf is Jo far natural and good^ as it f roues an advantage to Virtue arid Goodnefs. But if on the other fide, the fiibje^. of this pafjlon be really adequate and juft, (the Hy- fothefis ofTheifm being real, and not imagi- nary) then is the paffion alfo juft, and be- comes abfolutely due arid requifite in every rational Creature. Novy what is this but ar- guing for Religious ajfellion, or the admira- tion of the Divine order of things, (which he Height have called Faith if he had pleafed) from its '^ advantage to virtue, even though the lubje6t of it Ihould in the end, prove not to have been real but imaginary"^ And why may not another man, enideavour to perfuade men to live according to Virtue and Religion, from the fameTopick, ev^ri though it be put into plainer language ?

But to conclude; There is no confidcrare ' man, but who would willingly be fatisficd in

Y mattefs

v' Vng. 76. '^ Pag. -■%.

322 SERMON X.

matters of fo great moment, as the principles of Religion ; and therefore every man ought to take the furefl: way of attaining that (atis- fadion, by preparing himfelf to entertain Truth with a fincere love of it; that is, by living fo that no Truth may ever be ungrate- ful to him. There is a great affinity between Virtue and Truth ; and the furefl: way to find the one, is by the fincere pradice of the other. Let us therefore Jay afide all pafiion and pre- judice, and every irregular defire, which may hinder us from being impartially willing to obey every reafouable obligation, which the difcovery of Truth can lay upon us. And if we are already got fb far as in earnefl: to be- lieve a God, and that the practice of virtue or moral Reditude is his will, but yet want farther fatisfadion as to the Truth of Revelati- on ; let us firfl: do the will of God as far as we know , and then we Jhall know whether the do^rine be of God.

And may the Father of Lights , and God of all Truth , direSl us all in our fin- cere endeavours after the knowledge of his Will.

SERMON

SERMON XL

Preachtd March the 3'* i7\\*

Ifaiah ii. 3.

^^jd many people Jhall go , and fay , Come ye , and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord ^ to the hoife of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his zvays , and we will walk in his paths ; for out oflLxow fhall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from jerufaleni.

N my iafl: Difcoiirfc, I rook oc- cafion from thefe words to coii- fider ;

Y %

I. That

324 SERMON Xr.

I. That every Rational tiian^ who believes a God and a Providence governing the world, is under a natural obligation, to enquire whe- ther God has made any particular Revelation of his will to men, which they are any way concerned to take notice of.

I (liall now proceed to confider the Ifecond thing, which I then propofed to (peak tO:i viz.

II. That whoever ferioufly makes this en- quiry, will find good reafon to conclude, that fome Revelation may juflly be expecSted from God, confidering the general ftate of mankind.

This is a point which deferves to be very ferioufly confidered, becaufe it is the very point, upon which all thofe who can be truly called ^etfts, begin to divide from fuch as believe a divine Revelation. For he that be- lieves a God and a Providence governing the world, and obferving the adions of men, as- every one muft do that can properly be called a 2>/y/, and yet denies the Truth of all Revelation, muft of neceflity, either hold it unrcafonable cither to believe or expedt any

lueh

SERMON XL 325

fuch Revelation at all from God, upon any account ; or clfe he mull imagine, that there may hereafter be fome true Revelation, though ail that have hitherto been pretended to, be falfe. As to this latter cafe, I think there will be no occafion to fay any thing; becaufe, I believe, there are none of thole, who deny the Truth and certainty of all pad Revelation, who do in earneft beheve it probable, that there ever will be any other : Or if there ihould be any fuch perfbns, the courfe of thofe Arguments, which are generally ufed to prove the Truth and excellency of the Chriftian Re- ligion , v.'ill plainly iliew them their miftakc, by letting them fee, how unreafonable it is to expcd: greater evidence in this world for any pofllble future Revelation, than w^iac we already have for the Chriilian.

My bufmefs therefore atprefent, is only with thofe men, who profefs neither to believe nor expcd:, any other Revelation of the will of God to mankind, befidcs what the ordina- ry courfe of his Providence , in the outward government of the world, difcovers to every man's mind, but think inch belief or cxped:a- tion unreafonable: Now they that are of this opinion, mufl: either think, that it is impofli- blc, in the nature of things, that God Ihould

Y 3 make

32^ SERMON XI.

make any fuch Revelation , or, at lead, that iris- highly improbable that he ever does make any ; or elk , that mankind has no occafion or necefTiry for any luch Revelation, and therefore need never enquire after it.

In oppofition , therefore, to this kind of reafbning, I fliali endeavour to ilievv ;

I. That in the nature of things, there is no impojjlbility that God fliould make a particu- lar Revelation of his will to men.

X. Thar, confidering our natural notions of the Goodnefs of God, there is no realon to think \t incredible that he fhould , at Ibme time or other, make fuch Revelation.

3. That confidering the general condition of mankind , fuch revelation is by no means unnecejfary.

I. That in the nature of things, there is no tmpoJJibUity that God fhould make a particu- lar Revelation of his will to men. They that deny the poffibility of it, ought to fliew that it implies fome contradidion, arifing from the confideration, either of the nature of Man, to whom foch revelation is fuppofed to be made, or of God, who is fuppofed to make it : For otherwife, the mere difficulty of conceiving the manner how it is made, or our not feeing it often done, {o as to make it common or fa- miliar

SERMON XL 327

miliar to us, is no objedlion to the poflibility of it. But now, that God fhould upon fome occafions communicate his will to men in a particular manner , implies nothing contradi- ctory , either to the nature of man or God. For if we believe, that God is the maker of mankind , and that from him they received their realbn and underftanding , with all the powers and faculties of their mind, and all o- ther powers whatlbever, whereby they are ca- pable, either of communicating their thoughts and intentions one to another, or of receiving liich communication one from another, not- withftanding that the Agent or mind, thus communicating its thoughts, is it Mf invifi- blc; then it is unreafonable to fuppofe, that the mind of man is incapable of receiving any impreflion, of revelation or inflrud:ion, from the Supreme mind, only becaufe that Supreme mind is of an invifible nature. And it is yet much more unreafonable, to fuppofe any incapacity in the divine Being, of making liich difcovery of his will to the mind of man , as his wifdom fees fit ; for this would, in effeiSt^, be to deny the perfed:ion of his nature, and to make him a Being not adting freely but by neceflity, without liberty or choice : and this in the end comes to the fame thing, as deny-

Y 4 wg

328 SERMON XI.

iiig him to be an inreiligcnr Being % and mufi; at laft recur to downright Arhciim. For, in- deed, what difibrence is there between denying the Exiitence of God, and denying thofe At- tributes, which are eflcntial to an infinitely wife and powerful Being ; whereby though the name of God be retained, yet the nature of an infinitely perfedt Being, intended by that name, is infinitely confounded and loft. But I fuppofe thofe, with whom I am now dil- courfing, willingly to own more than the mere name of a IDeity^ and therefore may defire them to confider, the abllirdiry which would follow, from the denying a poilibility of his difcovering his will to mankind, what- ever theoccafion be, in any lopernatural way, not inconfiftent with his infinite Perfe<5lions,' or moral Attributes. Indeed, that the divine Majeftv or Effence of God fliould , at any time, be feen by mortal eyes, implies a con- tradid:ion to his Nature ; becaule it would iup- pofe him to be Finite, and limited to a parti- cular Figure and place, at the fame time that we own him to be Infinite, and every where prefent, that is, v.'ithout Figure. But then,

thac

" See Dr. Ciarke'i Demonflration of the 'Being and Attribute} sf God. Propof. viii, and iyi. ~

SERMON XL 329

that he who is every where prefcnr, and works all things according to the Counfel of his own 'willy doing whatever ^^/'Z^/?/^/, both in hea- ven and earthy iliould have no means of dii- covering his Will to intelh'gent creatures, whom he has made capable of underftanding the mind and will of each other, is a thing utterly re- pugnant to any juft and confiftent notion of his infinite Power. What the Pfalmift fays^. He that planted the Ear^ Jhall be not hear ? he that formed the Eye^ jhall he not feel he that chajiifeth the Heathen^ Jhall not he correal ? he that teacheth man knowledge , Jhall not he know ? carries in it a natural ar- gument, which may be extended to the cafe we are now upon. He that hath given to man, not only the ufe of Senfes, whereby he is able to perceive outward objc(5ts, but alio an in- ward 'Dnderjiandingt whereby he is capable of apprehending luch things as are not obje<5ls of fenle, has not he power to convey any knowledge from himlelf to that underftand- ing, but only by fuch means as we prefcribc to him ? and is he not able to convince the mind of man as cfTedually , of the Truth of what is conveyed to it, in an extraordinary

way,

b pjalm. p4. 10.

330 SERMON XI.

way , as ic can be convinc'd of any other truth of things that are without itfelf ?

But I need not infift longer upon the pofli- bility of a thing, which the generahty of man- kind in all ages have, not only owned to be poflible, but which they have alfo, as I Ihall ihew by and by, acknowledged in fa(St adual- ly to be. And therefore I proceed to ob- ierve.

TL. Thatj confidering our natural notions of the goodnefs of God, there is no reafon to think it incredible, that he fliould at Ibme time or other make fuch difcovery of his \vi\\. I would not here be fb underftood, as if I thought that we could jullly conceive God Almighty to be under any obligation to make fuch particqlar Revelation p men: becaule confidering the ungrateful returns and the un- worthy ufe which the generality of men have too commonly made of that natural Light which God affords to all, they have np realbn to exped: any fupernatural Revelation as mat- ter of Right: yet confidering the infinite Goodnefs of the Divine Being, fb many ways exprefs'd towards them beyond their deferts, they may have ground to hope for it from his mercy, and to believe that the thing is not improbable : efpecially when we confider.

That

SERMON XL 331

That in all ages of the world men have ever had fuch an apprehenfion. Now it is certain- ly more agreeable to the goodnefs of God to fiippofe, that there is really at the bottom fomc foundation for fuch an apprehenfion, than to think that mankind iliould always be under fuch a delufion, as conftantly to believe and expedt a thing for which there never w^as any ground or occafion given. That men Should miftake in making falfe deducStions from a true principle, or that they lliould ground many errors, one after another, upon one Truth mifapprehendcd or corrupted, is not to be wondred at ; for it is a common thing. But that they Ihould generally, in all ages and countries, fall into the belief of a thing, up- on which fo much of their prad:ical condud: depends, and yet that there ihould never, in any age or country, have been any probabi- lity of fadt or reafbn to induce them to it, is a thing that can hardly be reconciled with common lenfe to fuppofe.

Now that, in all ages and countries, there has been, time out of mind, a common perfua- fion, that God did communicate his will to mankind, in Ibme way or other more than the general way of nature, is a thing fo no- torious in all antiquity, that I think no one

will

332 SERMON XL

will go about to deny it : And the farther we go backwards towards the mofl ancient times, flili fo much the more ftrong and prevailing was that pcrfuallon. Tully^ in his preface to tjiofe Treatiles, wherein he endeavours to fet in the bed hght, not only a!l that could be faid for, but alio all that could be faid againfl thcfeveral iorts of ^ivhiat/ofi or Prophelying which were pretended to among the Heathen ; tells us, '^ That it was a conjiant and pre- vailing opinion, derived down from the re~ moteft antiquity^ or firO: ages of the world, and confinned by the nnanimous fujfrage of all nations^ '^ as well thofe which were moll learned 2indpolitey as thofe which were mod rude and barbarous ; That there was among men fuch a thing asTrophecy, or foreknow- ledge and prediction of future contingent c- vents. And he gives it as his opinion, ^ that

the

c Vetus opinio ell, j.ira ufque ab heroicis ducla tempori- bus, eaque & populi Rom. & omnium gentium fiimua con- fenfu, verfari'quandam interhomines divina'tionem quam Crs.- « ittc4v7«x;iw appellant, id eft, prcErenfionem &r fcienliam re- rum futurarum, lO'c. Cic. de Dhmat. lib. I.

^ Gentem quidem nullani video neque tarn hunianam at- que doefl^m, neque tarn immanem, tamque barbaram, quae non fignificari futura, & a quibufdam intelligi praediciqiie poffe cenfeat, ib.

e Atque haec, ut ego arbitror, veteres rerum magis even- tis moniti quam ratione dofli putaverunt 6c probaverunr, ib-

SERMON Xl 333

the ancients came into this ■^erfuafion^ not fo much by reafon and argument^ as by evi- dence of fa£f and experience. That is, they were convinced by the events of things which had been foretold, that the Divine Being did fomecimes communicate the knowlediic of things futmc, which could not otherwife have been naturally known to men. And though the immediate conveyance of this foreknow- ledge was by them liippofed to be made to men by Powers inferior to the Supreme Deity, yet they owned, that ultimately thofe Powers derived their knowledge of futurity from the Supreme ; as appears from that paflage of the Toet. ^

^ice Thocbo Tater Omnifotensy mihi Thee-

bits Apollo Tr a dixit §

And upon this perfuafion they all had recourfe to Oracles in difficult cafes, as is fufficiently known to all that have any manner of ac- quaintance with ancient Hiftory. And that they did not think the mere foretelling of fu- ture events was all the Revelation, which

they

* Virg. JEne'td. itb. 3. y. 251. s Upon xvhich Servius has this remark, Siinul notandum, ApoUinem, quas dicic, ab Jove cognofccre.

334 SERMOK XI.

they might expcd: from God, is evident from hence, That there never yet was any nation but what had Ibme fort of revealed Reh'gion, real or pretended among them, which gave them fome direction about their worfliip or incercourfe with the Heavenly Powers ^ : and thar they generally believed the firfl Founders of Kingdoms and Commonwealths, to have received fome kind of Inftrudion from the Gods, for the future eftablifhment of their Government and Laws, efpecially in matters of Religion and Divine Worlhip. From hence it was that Numa Tompilim, in the fettling of his Laws for the Roman flate, pretended to have frequent conferences with the God- defs Egeria^ f and to receive directions from her : And that ' Lycurgm, during the time that he was eftablifliing the Lacedamonian

Laws

(Muvn ' >^ 2l^ r^ro o ;tjf !jrsj^/i«^e^;©- sjn Tore a-tfAt/j. &C. Stra~ bo. lib. \6. l6x.

I Deorum metuin injiciendum ratus eft, qui cum

defcendere ad animos fine aliquo commento miraculi non poffer, fimulat fibi cum Dea Egeria congreffus nodurnos efle, ejus fe monitu, qu« acceptiffima Diis effent, facra inftituere. L'tv. lib. I. cap. 19.

i lei <J' ofto<o6 erroiei fC AvK^py©^ 0 t^r,XuT>]g *ujt5 (ic. Minois) %ei ^b^xFyi^df reii A»y,c^»iii.t\ion. Strabo. lib, XVJ. />. '}6x.

Leges

A

SERMON XL 335

Laws and Government, made frequent jour- nies to confult the Tythian Oracle. Herein thefe two famous Lawgivers imitated the me- thod which was reported to have been taken long before by Minos King of Crete ^ who was celebrated by the Ancients for the jufticc of his Government and the excellence of his Laws, for the making and perfedling of which he is faid to have had feveral conferences with Jupiter^ and for that purpofe to have gone every Ninth '^ Year into Jupiter's Cave to receive his In(lrud;ions, and to give an ac* count of what had been done in the former nine years, (according to ^ Tlato's account of the Tradition, who expounds the pafTages of Homer and Hefad, in which this matter is mentioned to the fame purpofe in his Dialogue which bears the name of Minos J by this

pradlice

Leges fuas au(flontate Apollinis Delphici confiimavit, Cic. de Divinat. lib. i.

k Not for nine years together, as fome mijlake ir^ rvho d» not confider the pajjage of Plato.

^ T«T9 y^ a">ifA.ouyti TT fV@-Tr, (Hom. Oj. T. ^. I 79.)

o-twatrixnii rS A(o< wviw r Mlvu ' ei qS oao^t Xoyot hti ' f^ ix- f »,-))5 a-twaa-ixi-^i eV(» c* xiy}ti ' i^IoIt* «r ^l c^dris trifi «« to Tftf A<o« <i'»7«^v e Mi'vAi?, rx JS f/.x97irofd^(^y to. 5 ivW«|o^i^ « T^ ZT^Tt^oe, OD^^xelaoiS'i {(//.euxf^xn) S^^gt ri Aio?. Plato in Minoe, fag. 319, ed.Sreph.

33<? SERMON XI

piadice he reformed whatever was amiis, fd that the Laws of Crete continued in great re- putation for many years alter."' Infomuch that thofe oi Sparta^ under which \kit Lacede- monians flourifhed fo long, were very much copied from them. And it is oblbrved by 'Plato, that thofe two kingdoms of Crete and Sparta were the only ones in all Greece, that kept from gaming and drinking to excefs, which he affirms was chiefly owing to the good inftitutions of this Minos : whole Me- mory wa:s had in fuch veneration, that the ancient Poets have, for his Juftice and good Government, made him one of the Judges of the dead in the other world ; as they have alfo made Rhadamanthm another, who (ac- cording to " TlatoJ was a Ibrt of Chief Juftice to Minos, in the adminiftration of his Govern- ment in Crete "". Though Strabo ( out of Ef horns, an old Hiftorian ) tells us, p that there was another Rhadamanthus Ions before this, who firft civilized the Ifland,' and took the farfie method of coniuking with' Jupiter,

v/hich

'- Vide Straboneni, lib. x. pjg.di~. n Plato, ih.pag. 310. o Rhadamanlhus i"; (ailed the Brother cf Minos in Plato'/ firfi Book de I.f gibus, /-. 613.

p Strah lib. \ pa^. a~6.

SERMON XI. 337

Which Minos afterwards copied from him. That theie, and the like relations of ancient times, which we meet withal in Heathen Au- thors, have a great mixture of fable in them I readily grant; but that which made them ib eafily obtain credit in the world, was this general perluafion, that fuch laws and govern- ment as were moft under ihe Divine direction, mufl of neceffity be mod perfect, and that God did, fome way or other, communicate fuch expreis dire<5i:ions to Good men. What Straboy a judicious Author, remarks upon this occafi- on, is worth our oblervation ; i JVhateiery fays he, becomes of the real Truth of thefe relations^ this however is certain^ that men did believe and think them true ; and for this reafo7j, Prophets were had in fuch honour , as to be thought worthy fome times even of Royal dignity^ as being perfons that dc liver- dd precepts and admonitions from the Gods, both while they livedo and after th fir deaths fuch as li'\xt{\2^s -i Amphiaraus, Trophonius> Orpheus, Mufaeus, ^c. It is certain, that

Z fome'

/3«tc-iA«<«5 ec^iycQ-M, u^ roc watg^t T WfoJv 5j,*t7» f«^f£j»7£« ^**

i TMfjcr/«{. crc. Strabo. lib. X6. ^Ag. 761.

338 SERMON XI.

fome of thefe Oracles continued long in repu- tation to after ages ; and were frequently ap- plied to by perfons of the higheft rank , and beft underftanding.

I know there are fbme who now make it a great Controverfy, whether there ever was a- ny real true predication delivered by thefe, or any other Oracles among the Heathen: and fome go fo far as to aflert, that they were all entirely cheat and collufion, managed by the artifice of crafty and defigning men. And no doubt there was a great deal of human fraud in them ; fo that in very many cafes , we need not look for any other Iblution for thole appearances, by which the vulgar were de- luded. But yet any one, who carefully con- fiders, what account the very beft, and leaft credulous of ancient writers give of them, will find it very difficult to prove^ that never any other agents but human, had any concern in them. There are fome luch exprefs predidi- ©ns related, as cannot well, with any mode- fly, be denied to have been made ; nor is it fo eafy to account for them in the way of hu- man Artifice, as it is to ihew, how they might, by wicked Spirits , have been collected from the true Oracles of God, and then delivered as their own, to gain credit to that Idolatrous

worfliip

SERMON XI. 339

Wdrfhip of wicked Spirits, into which, by the jufl: judgment of God, thofe nations were fal- len, which had departed from the vvorfliip of the one true God. Nor is it eafy to account for what both ^Tlato and Xeno^hon^ two in- timate acquaintance o^ Socrates ^ fo particu- larly and exprcllly relate, concerning that Ge- nuts or IDamon^ which gave that good man luch frequent and remarkable adverciieraents, to reftrain him from any dcfign, whereby he was likely to fall into any midake or danger.

However^ it is not necefTary to my prefenc purpofe, to enter lb far into this Controverfy, as to determine the matter either way ; for let all that was pretended to by thefe Oracles be never fo much a cheat, yet there mull: have been originally iome ground of truth to build all his cheat upon ; and the ftronger and more lading the cheat or counterfeit was, ib much the ftronger muft the perfuafion at firft have been, of fbme real and true Revelation made from God. For no counterfeit is ever attempt- ed, or can ever hope to meet with entertain- ment and fuccefs, but becaufe it pretends to imitate lomething which has been true in a like kind before, and owned to be fo. If there had liever been any real and true Coin, there ne- Y^r would have been any falfe or counterfeit.

% % ■ Errors

340 SERMON XI.

Errors may proceed and multiply from the cof* ruption of any Truth, but Truth is always the oldcft. The Firft writings of the Old Tefta- ment, may be proved, beyond difpute, to be older than any other books now extant in the world. And in thofe writings we have an account of very remarkable Revelations made to the ancient Patriarchs , who were very confiderable men in their feveral generations long before ; fome of which, no doubt, were remember'd long afrer. The wonderful pre- diction which Jofeph made, concerning feven years of great plenty , fucceeded by feven ethers of great famine, which had fo great an influence over the whole government of E- gyf^f and caufed {o great a change of property among them, could not eafily be forgotten in (bme ages. And the whole Hiftory of the life and ad:ions of Mofes the great Hebrew law- giver, the Miracles which he wrought, and the Revelations which he received from God, and the Government which he eftablilhed up- on them, over his own people, whom he de- livered fafe out oi Egypt ^ in Ipite of the ftron- geft and mod powerful oppofition of their op- prefTors, were things fo remarkable, that the Egyptians^ and other neighbouring nations, had great reafon to be well acquainted with

them :

SERMON XT. 341

them: and from them thefe notions might be very eafily propagated by degrees into other parts of the world. And other founders of Commonwealths might take hints from thence, to pretend to fuch extraordinary ways of re- ceiving their laws and inftitutions from hea- ven, as long as any tradition of the firll Truth remain'd. And I am the rather induced to obferve this, from the account which Strabo himfelf, in the fore-mentioned place ', gives of this Matter. For firfl, he gives a much more ingenuous Charadter, than !r^fi^//j- does, both of Mofes and the ancient Jewi/b people : and being an AJiatic^ he had opportunity of being better informed of their Original: and with a great deal of candour, he relates the occafion oi Mofes' s conduding them out e?/ Egypt ^, upon a great d'tjlike of the Egyptian Idola- try^ and of his iettling a good form of Politi- cal government, and an excellent fcheme of Religious worlhip", upon the belief of one God

Z 3 among

^ Lib. xvi. pa^. 761.

34-2 SERMON XI.

among them, free from image worOiip and fu- perrtition ; and oi" his promifing to thofe who continued virtuous and religious obfervers of juftice/ all future good^ and extraordinary or mtraciilous ajjlftance from God, but no fiich thing to thofe who were not fuch. He takes notice alfo, '' that Rehgion and the Di- vine providence, were the defence that Mo- fes took for his armour, when he was in queft of a place of iettlement for this excellent forni of religious worlhip. And he adds, '^ that thofe who fucceeded Mofes for fome time, while they kept to this firft mftitutton , were very jufl, and truly religious men. And, which is very remarkable, after the giving this ac- count of -Mj/Z^j" , and his Divine polity, he takes occafion to mention Minos and Lycur^ gtiSy zndL others, who pretended to a divine direction for their Inftitutions alfb, as if he intended thereby to lead us into an opinion, that they did but copy after this older ancj more excellent Legiflator.

And

fS'pva'tv t»'t» ^^Th* d^tuv. CT'C

SERMON XL 343

And befides all this, if we confider the fcat- tered remains of ancient Tradition, which are to be found difperfed among the old accounts of Heathen nations, though greatly corrupt- ed by paffing through fo many hands, and ftrip them of that fabulous drefs, into which poets and other writers have put them, we may fee manifeft footfteps of many ancient Truths of Religion, whereof we have a more plain and fimple, as well as more confident narration, in the books of Mofes and other facred writings. I fhall not mention particu- lars, becaufe many Chriftian writers, both an- cient and modern, in their defences of the Di- vine authority of the Chriftian Religion, are very copious upon this fubjed:. And all the modefteil of the Heathen writers themfelves confels, that their firft Learning and Philofb- phy, and many of their Religious Doctrines, were originally derived from the Egyptians ^ or other more eaftern Barbarous nations, that is, from thole who were more ancient than the Greeks. And if they had borrowed le(s from 1^0, Egyptians y who had been longer corrupt- ing Original Truth; and more from others, who had lefs fuperftition among them, we might have had a clearer account of the mofl primitive perfuafions of men, in matters of Religion.

Z 4 Now

34-4 SERMON XI,

Now the Ufe which I would make of all this is, to fliew, that mankind have general- ly been perfuaded, that God did really, upon great occafions, reveal his will to men, in fbme particular manner or other (which they fuppoled there were feveral ways of doing) for their better inftru6l:ion in matters of Vir- tue and Religion. And fince they have ever, from the very infancy of the world, as far as "we can judge, been pofTefs'd of this opinion, it feems mod agreeable to oqr notions of the Divine Goodnels, that fuch an opinion ihould not always have been mere delufion : but that there Hiould both be fome real founda- tion for it, and fbme excellent life to be, ibme time or other, made of it.

But becaufe there are fome who pretend, that the natural light of our own Reafon is entirely lufficient to direcSl us, in our moral and religious conduct, without any other adiftance, io that any other Revelation or diredion from God feems to them altogether needleft ; I Ihall therefore now proceed to iliew,

3. That confidering the general condition of mankind, fuch Revelation is by no means unnecefTary. Indeed if the generality of man- Kind had always lived up exad;ly to the prin- ciples of reafon^ and had all of them both

leifur^

SERMON XL 345

leifure and capacity fufficient to improve their natural Light to the utmoft, and were always ready, in every inftance, to pradtife accord- ing to the juft confequences deducible from fuch improvement ; then there might be fome pretence for thinking any farther afllflance or revelation unneceffary . But as the cafe (lands, the matter is quite otherwife, as will appear from feveral confiderations. For

Firfl, It is evident, that there is a (Irange and furprizing corruption in human Nature ; that the generality of men have hardly ever attended duly, at any time, to the natural dictates of their own reafon ; and none, even of thofe who attended mod to them, have yet ever done it fb conftantly, as not to be confcious that they have often deviated from what they knew to be reafbnable in many inftances. But much the greater part have fhewn themfelves more prone to extinguifli than to improve the light of Rcafbn. And yet all pretend to it, and all, upon fome occa- fion or other, make ufe of it, and appeal to it. There is an unaccountable mixture of contrarieties in the nature of man as it now (lands ; the feeds of ibmething fo very great and noble in his Rcafbning Faculty, and at the fame time foracthing io very weak and

dii:

U^ SERMON XL

diforderly in his general ufe of it, that the Hioft inquifitive men have been greatly puzzled to give a true and fatisfad:ory fblution of it. There is a very lively defcription of this dir ftemper or ficknefs of the mind of man in Tnllfs Preface to his s'^ Book of Tufculan ^efl'ions^ wherein he tells us, that ^ if Na^. tare had made us inftich a m^^nner, that we could have had a clear and diJiinB view of her, and have conftantly followed her excel' lent direBion, then we jhould not Jo much have wanted any farther advice or teaching. But now floe has afforded us only fome fmall (parks of true Reafon, which by corrupt fraBice and perverfe opinions we fo /mo- ther, that the true and uncorrupt light of Nature no where appears in its fullftrength. I might cite many paflages of other Heathen Authors to the fame purpofe. But fuch ac- knowledgements are frequently to be met withal , and I need not infift upon them. They could plainly fee, that theftate of man

in

y Quod fi tales nos natura genuiffet, ut earn ipfam intueri & perfpicere, eademque optima duce curfum vrtae conficere poflemus : baud erat fane quod quifquam rationem ac do- (ftrinam requireret. Nunc parvulos nobis dedit igniculog, quos celeriter malis moribus, opinionibufque depravati fie rcilinguimus ut Nnf^uam IfaturALumen a^pareat.

SERMON XI. 347

in this world was very far from being perfect or natural ; but how he firjt came into this condi- tion, was a queftion that could not be clearly relblved without farther light than their own''. They could fee that there were natural feeds of virtue in the minds of men, and that the im- mediate caufe of choking thofe feeds and hin- dring their growth, was wrong education, de- praved cuftom, perverfe opinions early imbibed, love of pleafiire, ambition, covetoufnefs, and the like. Thefe were indeed the immediate im- pediments to the attainment of Virtue, and that happy life, which nature direded to and alpired after. But thefe are the diforders of Nature in her diftempered condition : The original caufe of which they could not of themfelves find out : and until they knew the caufe of the diftemper, they muft always be at a lofs, how to find a proper means of reco- vering out of ir. Here therefore a Revela- tion was neceflary to fhew men their true con- dition. But

2. Suppofe

^ Sunt enim ingeniis noftris femina innata virtutum, quae 11 adolefcere liceret, ipfa nos ad beatam vitam natura perdu- ceret. Nunc autem fimul atque editi in lucem & fufcepti fpmus, in omni continue pravitate, & in fumma opinioffum jjerverfitate yerfamur, q'c. Cic. ibid.

348 SERMON XL

2. Suppofe they had really known^the true (late of their own cale, .yet the true cure for it was more than human power or skill could effe<5t. Some of them had recourfe to Philo- ibphy. But the difeafc was too inveterate, and too epidemical to be cured by fo weak a medicine. The Philofophers themfelves were many of them as far from being amended by their own prefcriptions as any other : few of them but what had lb me remarkable defedt, either in their Principles or Practices of Natu- ral Morality, as whoever reads the Hiftory of their Lives and Opinions may eafily fee; and the mod ingenuous of them confels it. " Tnlly owns, that very few of them formed their own minds and manners according ta the d't6iates of true Reafbn, and that their feveral Inftitutions were more an ojlentation of their knowledge than a rule of their lives. And their Scholars, according to ** AriJiotle*s

account.

' Quotus enim quifque Philofophoium invenitur: qui fit ita moratus, ita animo ac vita conftitutus, ut ratio poftulat ? qui difciplinam fuam non oflentationem fcientiae, fed legem vitze putet. Cic. Tufcul. I. i. cap. 4.

*/o*lei ataij (pi?i.»7-o<peiv, td HTeog 'itrecS^ caradoCioi, 'dfitiof rt zrci5v~

7 -sro^rciTlDft^/^y, &c. jiriji, Ethic. Nicorn.- lib. %. cap. 4. in fins.

SERMON XL 349

account, learn' d only to difcotirfe about Mo- rality^ but were no more better d by it, than a Jick man would be by hearing the difconrjes of a Thy/ician, but never uftng any of his prefcriptions. But fbme of them we may fiippofe were good and fincere men : yet had they been really better than they were, their numbers were fo few, and their authority fb weak, and the general corruption olT-the world fo great, that they could never hope to make any confiderable reformation in the manners of men. And fome of the bed of them did fo far defpair of any fuch efTed: from mere human endeavours, that they thought it bcH: to fit quiet, and if they could keep them- felves free from the contagion of that wicked- nels, with which the world about them was overwhelmed, it would be enough. And if any did attempt farther, they made but few converts. And their influence, in a great mca- fiire died with them. So that here is no re- medy to be expected, but only for a very few particular perfons out of the great body of mankind from the afTiftance of Philofophy. And yet this is what Ibme modern Deifts think fufficient to fuperfede the necefllty of all Re- velation, as if here and there a man of much ieidire, and great abilities, and good dilpofi-

tion,

350 SERMON XL

tion, were all rhatthe Divine Goodnefslhould be fuppofed to have any concern for. But iuch notions are very unworthy of God, who is no Refpedter of Perfons. Let it therefore be farther confidered,

3. That fuppofing the Philofbphers had been really defigned to reform the Morals and Religion of Mankind, they were not fuffict- ently qualified for fuch an undertaking, be- caule they themfelves were ignorant of many things necefTary for it. As they knew not the firft caufe of the corruption of humane Nature (which I mentioned before) fo they could know nothing of God's defign in fut- fering it, nor of the Scheme and Order of his Providence, by which he defigned to condud: mankind out of it, into a more perfeO: and hap- py ftate than that from which they had fallen. Though they were upon good grounds of Reafon (while they kept fteady to it) con- vinc'd of fome of thole great Truths, which are ftrong motives to obedience to the Law of Nature (fuch as the Immortality of the Soul and a Future State of Rewards and Punidi- ments:) Yet their convidion was not fo ftea- dy and uniform as was necefilary to perfuade others. And it may be queftionedy whether their unfteadinefs to their own arguments^ and

theif

SERMON XI. 351

their contradidtory opinions, and different ic^Si formed upon them, did not more hinder than, help, that influence which the traditional bc- hef of thefe primitive Truths had upon the vulgar, in more early times, before they had ever heard fuch dilputing upon them. So that there was really more want of Revelation after the days of Philofophy than before. What they difcourfed upon theie fiabjedts^ was too fubtle and Ipeculative, rather amufmg than inftruding to a common underftanding. And befides, they themfelves had no confi- ftent Scheme to proceed upon. Tho' they could plainly difcover, from the reafon of things that Virtue was necefTary to the perfed:ion of man, yet their many divifions and fubdivifions upon the Chief Good, or Supreme and Ulti- mate Happineis of man, were a great hindrance to any good influence upon thofe that heard them. They could many of them ipeak very well, both upon the excellence of a virtuous life in general, and of the immediate advan- tage of feveral particular virtues, and their na- tural tendency to the good of mankind ; but how to reduce them all to one confiftent fcheme, fb that ordinary men might fee the obligation to pras^ife all of them, in all circumflances,

was

352 SERMON XI.

was a thing that few, or none of them, could attain to.

There are, befides thefcj divers other confi- derations, which fhew the neceflity of a Re- velation from God, in order to the efled:uai reformation of mankind, both as to Reh'gion and Morality, which I fhall have occafion to mention in my next difcourfe : when I ihall likewife proceed to fhew, that if Revelation be a thing neither improbable nor unnecefla- ry, it ought to be our main concern to en- deavour to know, where this true Revelation is to be found.

SERMON

SERMON XII

Preached April the 7'^' 17 18.

Ifaiah ii. 3.

And many people Jhall go ^ and fay y. Come ye , and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord ^ to the houfe of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways , and we will walk in his paths ; for out of Zion fhall go forth the law^ and the word of the Lord from Jcrufalem.

Have, in my two laft Difconrfes, endeavoured to fhew,

I, That every rational man, who believes a God and a Providence governing the A a world,

m^

1

35+ SERMON XII.

world, is under a natural obligation, to enquire whether God has made any particular Reve- lation of his will to men, which they are any way concerned to take notice of. And hke- wife,

II. That whoever ferioufly makes this en- quiry, will find good reafon to conclude, that fome Revelation may juflly be exped:ed to come from God, confidering the general (late and condition of mankind. And in fpeaking to this fecond confideration, I obferved.

1. That in the nature of things, there is no. impojjibtlity that God fhould make a particu- lar Revelation of his will to men.

2. That, confidering our natural notions of the Goodnefs. of God to mankind , there is no reaibn to think it incredible that he lliould, at fome time or other, make fuch Revelation. And

3. That confidering the general condition of mankind , liich revelation is by no means Munecejfary ; as fome defpifers of all Revela- tion have thought fit to reprefent it. This I began to Ihew from fuch confiderations as thefe.

I. That there is a (Irange and furprizing

corrup-

SERMON XII. 355

corruption in Human Nature, which the wif- eft men could both fee in others and experi- ence in themf elves, but which they were won- derfully puzzled to give any tolerable account of: and not knowing the original caufe of ir, they muft always neceflarily be at a lols, how to find a fufficient means of recovering out of it. And

X. Suppofethey had really known the true (^ate of their own cafe, yet theefTediual cure for it was more than mere human power or skill could attain to. Philofophy, how much ib- ever it may be magnified, was not a fufficient cure even for thofe that profefs'd ir, who were at leaft but a fmall handful of men, and very unequal to fuch a vaft undertaking, as in- ftruiting and reforming the Morals and Reli- gion of mankind. And

3. If they had really intended fuch a thing, which few or none of them ever did, yec they were not qualified for fuch a work. They neither had fo fteady a convi(3:ion of the truth, of what themfelves profefs'd, not were their notions of feveral neceflary Truths fo confiftent with one another, as ever to be likely to have any great influence upon others. To thefe confiderations I fliall now add,

4, That in matters of Religion, which na*

Aa X turally

35^ SERMON XII.

rurally have the greateft influence over the mind of man, and which therefore ought to be under the bed and truefl diredlion of all others, they were ftill more deficient, than in any thing elfe. When mankind had once generally fallen from the worihip of the one true God, they funk, by degrees, into the rnoft brutal Superftition and Idolatry ; which was accompanied with fuch an univerfal blind- nefs and ftupidity, as to the true Nature of God and his Attributes ; that if Ibme notion of God's Exiftence had not been fo deeply rooted in human Nature, as never to be whol- ly deftroyed, a general Atheilm mufl: have been the natural confequence of fuch mon- flrous practices. For as we find no ancient account of any that profefs'd Atheiflical Prin* ciples, till Religion was fo entirely degene- rated from its firft Original, that Primitive Truth and eftablifhed Falfhood could not eafi- ly be diftinguifhed ; fb after things were come to this pafs, we find feveral pretenders to utter infidehty. Now the Philolbphers were io far from being able to make any con- fiderable reformation in this matter, that, ge- nerally fpeaking, they made the cafe much worfe ; not only by fuffering themfelves to be drawn away^by the ftr earn of Vulgar Super-

ftition,

SERMON XII. 357

ftitiou, and complying with every eftablifh'd idolatrous pradtice, but likewife by endea- vouring to find out fome diftindtion or other to juftify it, or at lead to excufe themfelves in complying with it. If they could not ap- ply fome fymbolical meaning or other to the mod abfurd and ridiculous ceremonies of their I grols fiiperllition, by which they might leem to reconcile it to Ibmething that look'd like Natural Religion, yet however they defended them by the law and pradice of the country where they lived. Thus not only the ordi- nary ' Scholars of 'Pythagoras, but even luch men as '' Tlato, " Cicero, '^ Epdtetus, and Aa 3 others

TtfAXy >^ o-fosf e^xet ' e a-«fl' jj^wafj Uyxviif.

Pythag. Aurea Carn}' ^ n^arev ^ fiocfih ri/^xi rxi /wet' 'OXv^vim ^e xj ra; rlw

ruTon xiaidev rx T^r^x s^ xiricprnx Tolg 'i/^T^tB-cv fvjieio-t vuZ Ofi ' f^ 6(Hi 5 '■*'5 ^f» '^ '■*^« ^xi/icta-tv 'oy ift^^av o^yixl^atT at • 'n^uct ij (/^ TbTm ' iTrxKiXaSei S' otuToli /^^s/jttaeV* *^'<* •a-ttr^uuv

Q>;ui y^ vofio^ o^yicci^ofS/jx. Plato dc Leg. lib. 4. pag. 717. which words are an encouragement both to fuhiuk and dome- fi'ick Suj>erJiition and Idolatry

c Conftruda a patribus delubra habento ; lucos in agris habento, & Laruiu fedes : ritus familiae, patrumque fer-

vanto.

358 SERMON XII.

Others of the mod eminent underflanding a-f mopg them, fuch as in many places, on other occafioDS, exprefs'd very noble and fublime fentiments, both of Morality and Religion, yet give fuch precepts for following the recei- ved cuftoms, both in the manner and objecSl of Divine Worlhip, as could not but greatly confirm all other left, difcerning men in any kind of Idolatry, which had but been long e- nough pradifed to plead prefcription in their feveral countries.

The Stoicsy who valued themfelves upon the fi:ric51:nefs of their Religious , as well as Moral Principles, by Deifying of Nature or the ^nlverfe and the feveral parts even oC the material world, were great encouragers of Polytheifm and Creature Worihip; and by afcribing the incommunicable name of God to any thing, that was but the immediate in-

flrument

vanto : Divos & cos, qui caeleftes fempcr habiti, cplunto, . Q'lc. de Legg. lib. x.

Sacra privata perpetua manento. Deorum manium jura- fin fta funto. ib.

jatn illud ex inftitutis Pontificum Sc Arufpicum non mu- tandum eft, quibus hoftiis immolandum cuiqueDeo, vc ib. ■xhere may he feen much more to the fame purpofe^ v^hich h^ frefcribes in the way of a perpetual Ejiabltfltment.

tKeti-^ii zf^a-tiKHf &c. EpiSl. ca]p, ^8.

SERMON XII. 359

flrument of any confiderable benefit to the life of man, they juftified the prad:iceof thole who ( in St. haul's, language ) changed the truth of God into a lie^ and worjhipped and ferved the Creature more than the Creator^ "jvho is blejfed for ever. And thus by re- fining upon the Mythological or Toet'tcal Theology of their predecefTors , they were fo far from correding the prevailing errors of Heathen Worfhip , that they rather added greater authority to the corruptions of it. Thus ^ Balbtis^ in Tully^ commends the wif- dom of the ancient Greeks and Romans^ for multiplying the number of their Gods by Dei- fying almoft every thing that was of great virtue or benefit to mankind : And likewife for giving Divine Worlhip to dead men, who had been eminent in former times, fuch as Aa 4 Hercules

e Mukae autem alias Naturae Deorum ex magnis benefi- ciis eorutn, non fine caufa, & a Gnat. Sapientiffimis & a majoribus noftris conftitutae nominataeque funt. Quicquid enim magnam utiHtatfcm generi afFerret Huniano, id non line Divina Bonitate erga homines fieri arbitrabantur. Ita- que turn illud quod erat a Deo natum {]. donatum) nomine

ipfius Dei nuncupabant Tum autem res ipfa in qua vis

ineit major aliqua fie appellatur ut ea ipfa res nominetur De-

us. Utilitatum igitur magnitudine conftituti lunt ij Dii

qui utilitates c^uaique gignebAut, — — IX ^>if- I>f'>r. i. »,

36o SERMON XII.

Hercules and Romulus^ and others/ becaufe they were now become Immortal. And though he feems, in fome meafure, to con- demn the vulgar Superftition of great folly and creduHty, s becaufefrom this Phyfical or Natural Theology, and the Deifying of de- ceaied Heroes, they had taken occafion, not only to introduce a multitude of fictitious Gods, which produced many fabulous and fuperfti- tious opinions among them; but likewife, by degrees, to afcribe all forts of human pafTions and. vices to their Gods ; yet he concludes, that, fetting fuch fables afide, the Divinity, which pervades through all nature, might be taken for feveral Gods in the (everal parts of it, and ought to be worlliip'd as fuch. Sed tamen his fabidts Jpretis ac refudiat'ts^ ^e- us pert'inens per Naturam cujufqne ret, per Terras Ceres, per Maria Neptumis, alii per

alia-i

^ Quorum cum remanerent animi a;quc jeternitate frue- rentur. Da rile funt habiti, cum & optiini client 8c aeterni- th. cap. 1:1.

s Videtifne igitur ut a Phyficis rebus, bene aique utiliter jiiventjs," trafta ratio lit ad commentiiics & fa<^os Deos ? quae res genuit falfas opiniohes, erroreique turbulentos 8(,

luperftitjones psene aniles, vc Accipimus en-im Deo-

rum cupidiiates, xgritudines, iracundias, c"';^.

Haec 8c dicuntur ;?^ crcduntur ftultifiime, 6c plena funt fu- tilitatis, fummaeque levitans. ib. cap. 28.

SERMON XII. s6i

alia, poterimt Intelligt qui qualefque fmt^ quoque eos nomine confuetudo nuncufaverit, quos 'Deos ^ venerari ^ colere debemus. Now here is certainly foundation enough left for juftifying the worfliip of a multitude of ancient Deities, and even for forming new ones upon occafion.

As for . the Academics, though they could not entirely come into the Stoical way of defending all this Superftition by reafon and argument, yet they juftified it by authority and ancient cftablilhment. For fb Cotta, in return to that advice which Balbus had given him, '' to be, as became his office of Pontif, a Champion for the ancient opinions about the Gods and their Worlhip, Ceremonies and Re- ligion ; tells him, that he will always de- fend them to the laft, as he had ever done, though he went upon other principles, and that nothing which any man could fay Ihould ever move him from this refolution. Ego vero eas defendam femper, femperque defen- di : nee me ex ea opinione, quam a major i*

bus

^ Non enim mediocriter moveor audtorirate tua, Balbcy Orationeque ea, quae me in perorando cohortabatur ut me- tninifTem me & Cottam effe & Pontificera ; quod eo, credo, valebat, ut opiniones quas a majoribus accepimus de Diis immortalibus, facra, caeremonias , religionefque defende- rem.

3^2 SERMON XII.

bus accept de Cultu *Deorum Immortalium ull'ms unquam or at to , aut dodii aut indo6tiy movebit. He was reiblved to hear no reafon againft the dodJrine of his Anceftors. Nay the very Epicureans themfelves, whofe great pretence was to cure men of Superflition, by running into another extream, and deftroying all belief of Providence, yet not only in pub- lick fell, mod of them, in with the vulgar Superftition, for fear of cenfure, but were many of them really, in their very hearts, as fuperftitious as other people, however they pretended fometimes to over-ad: the contrary. For Tullyj in the perfon of Cotta, tells us, ' he knew fome of them fb flupidly fuperftiti- ous as to worlhip every little image that came in their way ; and that Epicurus him- felf, (though fome, by his incorredl manner of writing, concluded that he defigned to con- ceal his true opinion, and that as he denied a Providence, fo he really had no belief or fear of any Gods at all, yet) was really at the bottom more afraid of thofe invifible powers, than thofe who never formally denied their Influence ; thus in fa6t confuting his own pre- tended

« Nov! ego Epkureoi omnia figilla numerantes. [AI. vc- ncranies. al inhiantes.] Cic.de Nut, D. lib. i. cap. jo. ^

SERMON XII. 3^3

tended opinion, by a mod flavilh and abject fear of, what he denied to have any matter of terror in them, ^T>eath2Lnd thcT>eity. Now as we may from hence juftly obferve, that the belief or fear of a Deity is fb deeply en- graven upon the Mind of man, and as it were woven into human nature, that no affumed principles of Philofbphy can ever be able to- tally to efface it : lb we may likewife con- clude, that none of all thefe Se(5l:s of Philo- Ibphers were capable of leading men back to the original truth of Religion, after it had been once fo miferably corrupted, as it was in the Heathen world : and confequently that a Divine Revelation was necefTary, to reform mens notions, and to reduce them to the true practice of Religion. But

f. It is farther to be obferved, that divers ofthewifeftPhilofophers, did themfelves con- fcfsy that they wanted a divine Revelation to fet them right, even in matters which were pf the utmoft confequence. They were fenfi- ble that all the eftablifli'd Religions, which jhey knew in the world , were exceedingly

corrupted :

^ Ille vero Deos efle putat; nee qucmquam vidi, qui inagis ea, quae timend* ^fle ncgtrct, timcrct ; Mortem dico fcDcqs, it. (o^.^i*

3^4 SERMON XII.

corrupted : and yec owned, that they faw no human way of reforming them ; the little that was true, being mix'd with (b much faliliood, that they knew not how to diftinguifli them. And therefore ^ Tlato, fuppofmg Religion to be the foundation of all good Government in his Commonwealth, plainly acknowledges the nece/Tity of a Divine revelation, to eftablifli fuch a woriliip as might be acceptable to God, and render him propitious ; and he remits eve- ry wife legiflator to -the divine Oracles for di- redion. He (peaks indeed of the T)elfhk O- racle, either as knowing no better, or per- haps as not daring openly to contradidl a vul- gar opinion : but the foundation of his Argut ment manifeftly fliews his opinion of the ne- cefTity of fomething more than human, to let- tie matters upon a right foot '"; and the

reafbu

fd, •ZTPcind' T vo(jLeSfly,iA.uTm.——^ h^uv rt J^jJs-ws ^ Sva-icu ;^ 6r,KoC4, >^ eo-ct rtic, IyM lii vzs-i^rjrS^ilxi 'iMu^ tnuriii «;^«v ' t« ^

■zsoClpiiii ' »t(^ 'jS ^4 TS'is 0 ©£05 tsc* T» ronxuTX -zrciTn aff^uTroi^ i^'jy^rr.i' Plato de Repub. lib. 4. fag. 427.

I.

SERMON XII. 3^5

rcafon which he gives, why no wife law-giver lliould innovate any thing in matters of Re- ligious worfliip, without a very evident ground, is not only becaufe the ancient law of'our fore- lathers, is lappofed to be originally founded upon fome Divine admonition, but alfo becaule Human nattire alone is not capable of know- ing what is fit to be done in the cafe. And " Tttlly gives much the fame, as one of thefe reafbns, upon the like occafion. And as to matters of Morality , as well as of Religion, they owned, ° that as the ftate of the world then was, there was no human means of re- forming it ; and only a Divine infticution could do the bufmefs, as Tlato frequently intimates ; p no man having fuffictent ability to teach men as they ought to be taught, tmlefs God himfelf were his guide and dire^or *i ; and

upon

«J' if SvuJXTOv H^ciM t7\ ^itityi (pva-H T rot^rui -a-ig/t. Plato. Ep'womis. p.^^S- tvhere fee likewife a long pajfa^e foregoing the words here cited.'

n Jam ritus familiae patrumque fervari, id eft, quoniam amiquitas, proxime accedit ad Deos, a diis quali traditam rc- ligionem tueri. Clc de Legg. lib. 2.

^ i-t yi ^1) ei^iviu, cTi '5?p «> o-w^ij re ?^ yenj) ctof iJ'h c* Toieturti y-ctlx^as-H •craA<T««», ©sj? iu.e7^* auii c-mtcu J^'tyuy s xxKUi ff Mff. De Repub. I. 6. pag. 4^4.

P 'A>a ii^' it SiSu^Hd, « *tjj Qsoi w'^i},'«7r«. Epinom. p. gS(f, 1 'AiQi>ift9-M ^t li $i/niT9y ifi Qtiit, lb, p^g^JO-'

^66 SERMON XII.

Upon that account an application to the T^e^ ity could not, without great impiety, be neg-^ levied. The Truth is, the Philofophers found themfelves fb greatly perplexed with one ano- thers ' contradidory reafonings , as in moft other things, fo, particularly in the great mo* tives both to Rehgion and MoraHty, the re-^ wards and punilhments of another hfe; that thofe of them, who did really themfelves be- lieve them , yet had not courage enough to aflert their own belief, in {o conftant or po- fitive a manner, as was neceflary to convince others that they were in earneft, for Want of Ibme more demonftrative affurance, which they might apply to all capacities. What ^iJiw-

mias.

ti(A.(piT^i{lhfriDt y QeS. Plato de Legg. I. I. />. 641. Nec ta- men, quafi Pythius Apollo, certa utfintSc fixa qusedixcro; fed ut homunculus unus e multis probabilia conjedura fe- quens. Cic. Tufc.Gi^ I. i, cap.C)..

9ce% T« • TV fitv TCI cui rd Xtyo/jLcyx -afe* tuuruif ft,i li^i zra^li rg^rry

wa»y fi.ot>SxK5 H^xt dvS^i ' 3eif ^ 'Zsfei cujtcc £» yc ti t^tui 2^'

ya» ^c^TiTo* T mS^wKiim Koyat hx^'oi^ , ^ J*t/(rE|f Af/)t7»T«7e*» tirt TUTS e;^^»|Ut»e», ua-Tre^ fV< ^£^/«5 xtiS'iwi^ciTX li^frMvo-a* T fc<«f ' ti /ni Ttf ^twoctlo tto-^xXi^c^i t^ dxtvi'viiTe ^i , tVJ fiefiMcTt^a ox,vuecl(^, v AO'rOT €>£l'OT TWOS, :i/*T«f<*i« Htiu. Plat. PhidoT?. fag. 8j.

SERMON XII. s6i

ntias, in T/ato's Thadon, delivers as his own lenfe of this matter, may well be taken as the real opinion of the mod ferious of them. This^ lays he, O Socrates, is my of'imon^ as it may probably be yours, in matters of this nature^ (fpeaking about the future (late of the Soulj that to know the certain Truth in this life^ is either imfojjible, or at leaft exceeding dif- ficult. B^tt not to examine ftri6lly what is faid about them , or to give over before we have confidered the matter fo far on every fide, as to find it inftipcrable, is the fart of a mean and lazy mind. For in this cafe , we mujt refolve upon one ofthefe courfes, either to learn of others how the matter fiands, or to find it out our felves ; or if both thefe be tmpoffible, we mufl take the befl human rea- fon we can find, and that which is leaft lia- ble to exception ; and upon this plank, or raft, muft fail through life as well as we can, uti- le fs any one can meet with a fafe and lefs hazardous pajfage , upon a firmer bottom , \. e. fome divine revelation. This is a re- markable paffage, and iliews the lenfe which they had of their want of fomething more than human realbnings, to make their condi- tion lafe and fecure. But, that which is yet more confidcrable to this purpofe is^ that fome

of

S6S SERMON XII.

of them nor only faw and acknowledged their great want of a Divine revelation, to fet them right in their conducSt both towards God and Man, bat likevvife exprefs'd a ftrong hope or exped:ation, that God would, one time or o- ther, make fuch a difcovery, as ihould dilpel that cloud of darknefs in which they were in- volved. This appears from a very remark- able dialogue in T/ata, (concerning Trayer) between Socrates and his young Pupil Alci- biades : wherein the Philofopher fhews his fenfe of the exceeding great corruption of all the Heathen worlhip, and on how unreafona- ble thoughts of the Deity mofl of it was found- ed ; and how cautious therefore wife men ought to be, in their addrelTes to him, left they Ihould offend againft the purity and per- fedtion of his Nature, by petitioning for things not only improper, but dangerous and hurtful to themfelves in theilTue. And he concludes, that "^ men ought to watt patiently^ till they

are

^onM i^eiv THTOi T etvSf <wwo» , t/? eV/» " XHIC. 4s7«? £5"<ii <^

SERMON XII. ^6^

are taught more perfeBly how to behave themfclvesy both toiLards God and Man. And when Alcibiades enquires , when that time would come, and whojhoidd be this great in- flru^or \ Socrates replies > " He ic is who '' has the greatcH: concern imaginable for you> " and who will remove the prelent cloud froiii " your mind, and then apply fomeching that " may enable you to dilccrn the true difference " between Good and Evil, as Minerva^ ia ^' Homer ^ is reprefented difpelUng the mill *^* from the eyes ot^iomedes, that he might " diftinguiiii berween a Divine and human per- " Ion." That Socrates did not mean himfelf by this Divine inltrudor, as fbmfe are willing^ to furmife, is evident from his generally dii- claiming any fuch lufficient knowledge, as be- ing himfelf in much uncertainty, and always remitting men , m cafes of difficulty, to the

B b Oracle.

Mjuj wcc^Sirei T^/^a:K;', rerrvtKCUJr' r.iyi ■sr^qa-^ieav ot civ ^e;*.«5 yvuT-it^ y,f.^ r.»K)>t i-Ji yl tod-x'ov. viw (/- y^ Ofx, kv ^ol doK^i duuTj-

oV<« asrar fVin o cl\6^6i7r@~ ' e.yi i^iii:oii.Li ^zXriat yiiiS-cu. £QIC.

^£<5 TOTt reiiiM i^ rluj ^vtricii ccva.'cK^.id^ x^riTOV tivM f^'ot dh^d. 2i2K. KflM o^i^i ye cr»i Sokh' ^V^AAfVi^V ' y«*f 'V<v >? cS-W^x'i'"- ^?«;^'?|y i-iYvrly i^r/^.'Wv. ■!>Hr^»ii Atcitkd, {{, jfr«^. is^i Jjl'

370 SERMON XII.

Oracle. Neither did Alc'tb'tades underftand him fo, as appears from hencej ^ that as he ofTers a garland to Socrates^ in token of gra- titude for his good advice, fo he promifes all other due offerings to the Gods, when he fhould fee that happy day which Socrates had given him fome ground to hope for, and which he hoped would not be far off, fmce it depended upon their favour and good will. Socrates indeed, in his Apology, as Tlato has reprefented it, owns himfelf to have been an inftrument raifed up by providence, to awakea the Athenians out of that lethargy of wicked- nefs and diforder, into which they were fal- len ;. ^ but that ;poJJibly they would take his admonitions fi ill, fas men in a Jlumber hate to be awaked) that they would, at the infti- gat'ton of his Accufer , take away his life : and then they might fleep on fecurely ever after \ unlefs God himfelf jhould fend fome other ex£refs Mejfenger to take care of them.

However,

irfc'Twv 3-£Aav7'<'y. lb.

^fBflii, K^ae-XMlii Hi fie ■aret6afd/joi Avvrai, pu^iai xv «5rax7«V)j7f #

vu.7f o ©£01 iTTizs-B/i'^Hi, jtjjJi^'jWiv®^ vfiuy, platonis A^olog. Socr,

SERMON XII. 371

Howeveri let the lowefl meaning poiTible be put wpon thefc, and the likeexprelHons ; thus much may certainly be concluded from thcmi that the bed men thought, the fending of a Divine revelation, to reform both the Religi- on and Morality of the worlds was neither un- necefTary, nor, confidering the goodncls of God, unreafonable to be expeded. To thefc ConfideratioDS we may alfo add ; Lailly :

6. That fuch men as now think that no Revelation w^s ever neccfTary , but that the want of it might always have been liifficient- ly fuppliedi by the ufe of human Reaibn alone, do nof ftate the matter* fairly ; becaufe they Unwarily confound part of that light which we infenfibly receive by the Revelation of the Gofpel, with that light of Nature which men had before it : that is, they do not diftinguiih between thofe notions which the mere Hea~ then world were in pofTcfTion of before^ and thofe which they attained to after the preach- ing of the Gofpel. And yet whoever carefully confiders it, will find that Chriilianiry made a very confiderable alteration, both in the no- tions and pra(5tices, even of thofe who conti- nued obflinate oppofer* of its cftabliflimenr, Jufl as the great light, which accompanied the Reformation of the Chriftian Religion it idfi

B b ^ vj

372 SERMON XII.

in thefe later ages, helpt to corredt fome of the dodirines and prad:ices, even of that cor- rupt parr of Chriftendom , which refufed to embrace the principles of the Reformation it lelf; and whofe dodrines and pradtices, for for want of that hght, which was even againft their inclination forced upon them^ would o- therwife, inflead of being corrected, have been continually growing worfe and worfe ; fo fome part of the light of Chriftianiry broke in up- on the Neighbouring heathen world, whether they would or no. And though their manner of 'writing was not fo polite, as that of fome of the more ancient Philofophers, y^et their thoughts and reafonings were much improved. And I make no queftion, but ^lotmus^ and others of that time, put a more fublime mean- ing upon fome of the Do<Sl:rines oiTlato^ and other Ancients, than they themfelves ever thought of And fo likewife they invented new Hypothefes, to account for ancient pra- difcs. Thus, for inftance, though they did not wholly difcard Polytheifhi and Idolatry^ yet they refined upon it very much, to make it as plaufible as they could, and came much nearer towards the Acknowledgment of the Unity of the Supreme Being , and the Attri- butes of his Divine nature, than their ancient

^rede-

SERMON XII. 373

predecefTors had done. And when they law the Chriftians, with fuch afTurauce afferting, and with fuch conftancy dying, for the belief of a Future ftate of Rewards and Punilhmcnrs, they themfelves (poke of it with more certain- ty, and laid much greater ftrefs upon it, than had been done formerly ; making it a necelFa- ry foundation for the conftant perfeverance in virtue ; which others, for want of a fufficicnc affurance of this matter, were forced to recom- mend from more abflrafted motives, and fuch as were both lefs intelHgible, to a common ca- pacity, and lefs effedual. And therefore Hie- ?wcles tells us , "" that thofe who imagine the Soul of man to be mortal^ are more in jeH than in earned , when they pretend to talk of not abandoning virtue upon any terms. For if there be fwthing in us which furvives after death , and which naturally would be adorned with Truth and virtue ^ which is what we affirm of the Rational Soul, then we could have no pure affeBion^ or dejire of Good. And it is very remarkable, that even B b 3 Celfm

tlw xotTUVt xouipdJfi*^ ficiX^ov ii «A»)C<}0»r(» * « yi ^jj eiti ri ikn- fiivov r,iAU\i itj) B-iitaiJov, «J T«7r (pvTH 'i%ov dXn^fici >^ ct^slii xor-

(A.lv zxeuacf, yi'ioilo T K%>si.i. Uierocl, In Cartn. Aur:a,

374 SERMON XII.

Celfus himfelf, an Epicurean^ in his books ^- gainft the Chriftian Religion^ is forced to QWU his approbation of the Dodlrine of the Im- mortality of the Soul, and of Future rewards and punifhments ^ ; which it is certain none of the more ancient Epicureans would evet have done. And as for our modern Deifts, who have any tolerable notion, either of na- tural Religion or true Morality, they are more beholding for it to that light of Revelation, in the midfl: of which they hve, and which has greatly cleared up, and firmly eftabliftied^ the principles of Realon, though they will not own ir, than to any of thofe human difcoye- ries, which Philofophers, utterly deftitutq of iiich Revelation, or living before k, could cer- tainly lead them to. So that when men ar- gue againft the neceffity or ufefulnefs of Re- velation , from the prefent improvement of Reafon, they argue againft fad" and experience. And if they were not both very ungrateful, in difovyning and delpifing that light, whereot

they

('-■eio-ii, ci oe kSiy.at arafcTrav oe^avioig Kccxoli o-twf^ov^ , J^ TiiTH Se ride arisen. Contra Celf. lib. 8. />. 409. jind to the fame f ur-

"^^r, oiKoii/i Soy;.i.>r. lib. I, pn^^. IIQ.

SERMON XII. 375

rhcy enjoy fb great benefit without confldcr-. jng it ; and extremely vain , in thinking ib much better of their own natural abihties , than they do of thofe of all the greateft men in the times preceding the hght of the Go- Ipel ; they could not but think it more likely, that fuch wife and ferious men as Socrates ^ Heraclitus^ Tlato^ Cicero., and others, lliould underftand the ftate of the world in their own time, and know how much could be done, in that ftate, towards finding true Religion, and bringing men to the practice of if, upon the foot of mere human reafoo, much better than we can do at this diftance ; w^hen we cannot be fo fenfible of the want of Revelation expe- limentally, becaufe we are prevented by the antecedcnr enjoyment of it. Men who are bred and brought up in Chriftiaii Countries, where the great principles, both of Natural and Revealed Religion, are commonly profeis'd, ^nd dilcourfed of, without diftindlion ; and our whole tJuty, wich all the proper rational Mo- tives to it, are made parts of ordinary inftru- d:ion ; even though they have never ftridly confider'd the additional evidence which Re- velation gives, yet will be able to fee, how agreeable to Natural realbn and conlcience many thitigs in this light now appear to be,

B b 4 which

Si6 SERMON XII.

•which they could never have fo clearly difco- vered, if they had not been fo efFedtually,- though to themfelves infenfibly, affifted. Juft' as a man bred up in a Maritime province, where he daily fees ihips , and conVerfes with lea- fario'T perfons, though he never made Navi- gation his profefTion, will certainly have a readier apprehenfion of what belongs to it , and frame to himfelf more confident notions of ir, than another man of equal underftand- ing, who has always lived upon the Continent, for remote from any fuch converfation. It is not always eafic, to difcern how much of that flock of knowledge, which any man has, was acquired purely by his own induftrious appli- cation of his thoughts, and how much by the external teaching of others ; but yet it is al- ways evident, that without the latter, he could not have made fo great a progrefs as not to need any more teaching for the future. So though there be now no occafion for any new Revelation , to make the priikiples of natural Religion better underflood ; fince we can, by the help of that light, which we have already had from heaven , make fuch ufe of our na- tural Fveafon , as to fee our original obligation in point of Religion and Morality ; yet, with- out that light, men were fallen into fuch a

maze

SERMON XII. 377

maze of uncertainty, that it's evident the wif- eft of them could not, of themfelves, find the way out of it. And why ihouldanymaa now think, that if he had been in the fame ftate, he fliould have had better fuccefs ?

And therefore upon the whole from fuch confiderations, as I have mentioned, and which I might have drawn out to a greater length, we may juftly conclude, that as in the nature of things there can be do Impofii- bility of God's making a particular Revela- tion of his will to men, nor confidering our natural notions of the Goodnels of God, any reafon to think it Incredible, that he ihould at (bme time or other make fuch Revelation : So confidering the general condition of man- kind without it, (uch Revelation is by no means to be k>ok'd upon as ufelels and Ua- necelTary.

I lliall now proceed more briefly to confl- der the third thing which I propoied in the. beginning of my firft difcourfe on this Text, viz.

III. That it is every rational man's duty to ufe all the proper means he can to find out what is true Revelation, and what is only

pretended

378 SERMON XII.

pretended. Aud this I think will not need a-r ny long dedud:ion of arguments to prove it : becaufe it feems to be a very natural confe- quence from the two former propofitions, of which I have hitherto been fpeaking more at large. For if it be agreed, that every Rati- onal man, who believes a God and a Provi- dence governing the world, is under a natural obligation to enquire, whether God has made any particular Revelation of his will to men, which they are any way concerned to take notice of; which was the firft of thole pro- portions : Aud if whoever feriouily makes this enquiry will find it reafbnable to con- clude, that fome Revelation might be juftly €xped:ed from the Goodnels of God, confi- dering the general flate of mankind without it, which was the fecond ; Then it is certain- ly very Reafbnable, that every man, who is thus perfuaded, fliould apply himfelf very ferioufly to find out, what Revelation is true, and what not ; that he may neither be im- pofed upon, by admitting equally all pre- tences to Revelation, nor cut himfelf off from all benefit that may arife from that which is true, by rejediing all equally. It is evident to all men, who will give themfelves any lime to confider, that there is, and has long

been

SERMON XII. 379

been in the world, a great variety of pre- tences to Revelation, and different Sch€n:^es of Religion have been formed upop them; and that thefe cannot pofl^bly all be true, be- cau(e they not only differ from, but mani- feftly contradid , one another in many cafes. And it is on the other band vei^r plain alfo, that if there never had been any true Reve- lation at all, there could not have ever been any ground for men's univerfally making fiich pretences to it : unlefs we could fuppofe, that God had laid our nature at firft under an in- vincible neceflity pf being perpetually decei- ved ; whicl^ is inconfiftent with our original and mofl natural notions of his Goodnefs. and therefore to come at the truthitjsnecef- lary, either ftricSHy to ej^amine all the par- ticular pleas of the feveral pretenders to it, and compare them with one another, which would be a work too great for any one man Xo go through with, in his whole life; or elfe we muft fix upon fome general acknowledged Principle, which, being once eftablifli'd, will always be a ready Criterion to diftinguilh the true from the falfe, and which we may at any time apply as occafion offers.

Now if it can be made appear, that there is any one continued and flaadiag Revelation,

the

38o SERMON Xm

the parts of which have fiiccefTively givcD light to one another, though dehvered at dif- ferent times and upon different occafions 5 and which has in it all the internal marks and charaders of Truth and Goodnels, and all the external evidence of Fad:, to fupport its pretenfiofis of being from God, which any reafonable man can dcfire : if it appeals to the common fenfe and reafon of mankind, and never fears an open and publick examina- tion of th^ grounds upon which it ftands, nor could ever be realbnably accufed of impo- fture, by thole who faw the facSts which were intended to give teftimoriy to it, and yet were fo far from being parties to the defign, that they were greatly prejudiced againfl: it : I fay. If there be any fuch Revelation as this, it mud be the true one, as coming from God. And all other pretended Revelations, fet up in oppofition to it, or aCuming fome feeming imitation of it, in order to gain themlelves credit for a while, are to be difregarded ; as being either falfe or impertinent. And where- ever this Revelation is, which has all thefe ex- ternal and internal evidences of Truth, which no impofture can have, there we may truly fey, is, the mountain of the Lord, and the Houfe of the God of Jacob. And to this

every

SERMON XII. 381

every man ought to apply himfclf , becaufe there he may cxped: to be taught the ways of God.

AnJ that there really is in the world fuch a Revelation, to which we may apply our fclves for the knowledge of all iuch truth as is neceflary, in order to condudt our lives according to the will of God : fo that we may be afTurcd of attaining the trueft happi- nefs of which our rational nature is capable ; and that this Revelation is proved to be from God, by as good evidence as either the na ture of the thing will admit, or any reafbn- able dnd unprejudiced man can defire, is what I fhall endeavour to fliew in my following Difcourfes: wherein I fliall confider not only the nature of Miracles, which give attefta- tion to any R,evelation, but the nature of the Revelation itfelf, which Miracles are wrought to eftabliih.

All that I iliall now add, is only this rea- fonablerequeft; that men would honeftly ap- ply themfelves to the examination, both of the natuje of the dodtrine revealed', and the evidence for it, with fuch an unprejudiced mind, as becomes the fmcere love of Truth :

and

382 SERMOK Xli.

and that they would fhew as much care and diligence in itj as a matter of fb great impor- tance juftly requires. And may the God of our Lord JefusChriJi, the Father of Glory y give unto us all, the Spirit of tVifdom and Revelation in the knowledge of him.

SERMON

SERMON XIII.

Preached M^y the ^'^ 171 8.

i$V. John iii. 2.

► — Rabhiy we know that thou art a Teacher come fromGocl : for no man can do thefe Miracles^ that thou do* efty except God he zvith him.

Hefe words are the confefTion of Nicodemm to our bleHcd Saviour, teftifying his convidion, from the Miracles which he wrought, that that he Was a pcrfon fent from God to be a Teacher of men. Who this Nkodemns was, it is not ncceffary to enquire farther than the

Scripture

384- SERMON Xllt

Scripriire has told us ; which informs us, that he was a Thar'ijee, that is, one of the mofl exad: Sed: ainoag the Jewsy in the know- ledge of Scripture and of the Traditions of the Elders : and that he was a Ruler of the JeJ^Js, .that is, one of the Sanhedrin or Great Council at J erufalem, and fo was not Only a Teacher;, but a man of fome dignity and authority, A Majfer of Ifrael, as our Saviour's expreffion is. And that which inakes his coming to our Saviour, with this free acknowledgment, the more obfervable, is, that the perfons of his ftation were of all others the molt averfe to the entertainment of Chrift's doctrine, becaufc of that Intereft and Authority which they had acquired a- roong the people, and which they were very unwilling to part withal; which yet was in great danger of being loft, or greatly im- paired, by the growing credit of our Savi- our's Preaching. Even Nicodemus himfelf, though convinced in his own mind, that our Saviour was a MefTenger fent from God, yet durft not venture to be openly feen mak- ing this confeftion to him. Though he was in fome degree a 'D//?///^, yet it vJ2iSfecret- lyy fir fiar of the Jews. However he went farther than the reft of his order would do in

this

SERMON XIII. 38$

this confcfUon ; though probably more be- fides himfclf were inwardly convinced of riie truth of what he confefs'd : for he fpeaks in the plural number, Rabhiy we kwju that thou art a teacher come from God : meaning thereby, either tiiat ochcrs of his rank, as well as himlelf, were inwardly of the lame fentimenrs, though they would not own \x.\ or however, that the Miracles which Jefus did were fo plain and undeniable, that every unprejudiced man mull needs, as he thought, be of the fame opinion which he here pro- feffes himfelf to have. And if the reafon for" making this conclufion were then ^o flrong and pfclTing, when our Saviour was but new- ly entered upon his office, and had not yet done fo many wonderful works as he after- wards did, and efpecially while the great Mi- racle, of his Refurred:ion from the Dead, was yet wanting ; how much more ftrong and con- clufive mufi: it needs be, when theie are ad- ded to it, and confirmed by the following Miracles, which his Apoftles wrought in his name and by his Authority ? Bur • he argument here ufed in the Text, whereby Kicodemus perfuaded himfelf, that our Saviour was a Teacher come from God,is a general one/ound- Cd upon this, that A^^ man could do Jiich Mt- C c racks

^U SERMON XIII.

racles unlefs God were with htm ; and there- fore I fliall not confine my felf only to the Miracles of our Saviour, much lefs to thofe only which he wrought before this difcourfe with Nicodemus ; but fliall Ipeak more gene- rally of Miracles, as they are fuppofed to be an argument for the truth of that Revelation which they are wrought to confirm, and as all true Revelation has ever been confirmed by them. And to make this matter as clear as I can, I fliall cake the following method.

r. I fliall endeavour to fliew, what we are to underftand by a Miracle.

II. That the pofllbility of Miracles is not contrary to Reafon ; and conlequently that whereever rhey have been wrought, their credibility is capable of a rational proof.

III. How we may diftinguifli flich Miracles as are from God, and wrought in confirma- tion of Divine Truth , from fuch as arc wrought, or pretended to be wrought, in con- firmation of Error and Falfe Dodtrine.

IV. Wherein that aflurance confifts, which Miracles, thus diflinguifli'd, give us, that the perfon employed in working them has a Di- vine commiflion, or is a Teacher fent from God,

V. What.

SERMON Xlir. 387

V. What evidence vvc now have from the Miracles anciently wrought, that theChriftiaii podtrinc, contained in Scripture, is truly a Divine Revelation, arid to be always embraced

as liich.

I

I. I lliall endeavour to fliew, what we are to underftand by a Miracle. Now if we were in general to take only the bare Etymology of the word, it means no more than iomething which is very ilrange and wonderful, or fur- prizing to our fenics, fomething v/hich men admire at as very unufual, and feldom or ne- ver known to have happened before. And in this fenfe ail the rare and extraordinary oc- currences ill nature miy be, as they fbme- timesare, called Miracles. But this does not come up to the full import of the word as ic is ufed, in Scripture arid other Authors, to ilgnify fomerhing extraordinary done for fome particular end' and deHgn. There are in the New Teftament divers words, in the originaI> Which in different pkces are tiranflated Mira- cles^'' which may perhaps have fome fmali difference of Signification, if we vVerc to make Cc X a minute

" 0«Wjtt£t/,«, ri^Kjet, SM»f<.ei;, iut the wofi ufual word it

388 SERMOK XlXr.

a minute diftindion between them. But be- ing often ufcd promifcuoufly for one another, there is no occafion to be particular about them : but to fpeak to the thing itfelf inten- ded by the general word Miracle : which may be thus dcfcribed. A (Irange and wonderful eiFed:, obvious to the fenfes of the beholderSy. yet produced by fupernatural means, or by the interpofition of fome power, fuperior to all human or ordinary powers that we know of, inviilbly alTifting the perfoii at whofe in- ftance the ciTcCt is produced, and by confe- quence giving atteflation to him. So that to make any thing not only a true, but a flg- nificant Miracle, there are thefe three condi- tions required.

T. That the effed: produced be fomething,. which is plain and obvious to the Senies of the beholders.

2. That it be Supernatural, or exceed all natural human power known to us.

3. That it be done for fome evident end and defign,

I. That the effedt produced be fbmething which is plain and obvious to the Senies of the beholders. For other wife it can be no Mi- racle to us, unlefs it be evident to our Senfes as well as ftrange and wonderful. Thus all

the

SERMON Xlir. 385.

the Miracles recorded in Scripture, are things .that did really and evidently appear to all beholders. The fad:s were fuch as appealed •to the Tcftimony of mens Senfes, for the cer- tainty and reality of them, being plain be- yond all difpute to all that were preient ; or ."clfe there could never have been any contro- verfy, either about the povv^er producing them, or the end for which they were wrought. So that where only the imaginations of weak people are wrought up to liich a degree of a- mufcment, by Ibmc artificial tricks, that their "Senfes are for a time deluded, fo as not to mind what paifes., but to fancy they fee Sny thing that is told them, there is no Mi- racle. And fo likevvile whatever hidden ef- fed: is really produced in any thing, by what means foever it be done, yet it cannot be a Miracle, to any purpofe, till it become the objedt of Senfe. The next condition required in a Miracle, i?,

2. That the effedt be Supernatural, or ex- ceed all natural human power known to us, either in refpcdt of the matter, or the mariner of it. i. e. When the effedt produced is not on- ly unufual, but either fuch as no human or vi- fible power can produce in any manner, as raifmg the dead to life again ; or fuch as in

C c 3 tlie

390 SERMON Xm.

the manner and circumitances, exceeds the li- mits of all human power, as the curing di-» ieafes by a word fpeaking. For though it be not a Miracle to cure a difeafe, by the apph- cation of proper medicines, and the afTiftance of time, yet to do it in an inftant with a word fpeaking, either without any appHcation at alii or by applying fbmething contrary to all hu- man probability, as clay to the eyes of a blind man , is miraculous : and fo it is to fpeak di- vers languages without ever having learned them. 'Tis not the thing it felf effedted, but the Manner and Circumdances of effeding it, which is miraculous, and requires a luperna- tural power. Bat by Supernatural^ I do not mean fuch a power, as exceeds the natural pov; er of every Created Being whatever , lb that it fhould nccefTarily be the immediate and infinite power of God ; but only, that in re- fpedt of human power it be fupernatural, or exceed all the known powers oi' the vifible Agent. For I fuppole that Angels, both good and bad, are able to do things far exceeding all human power, by virtue of that natural power which God has originally given them ; and fo, being'to us invifible, may do, or afllft men to do, things which to us are truly mira- culous. And thus fcvsral things recorded in

Scripture

SERMON XIII. 39 i

•Scripture as miraculous, are fa id to be done by Angels: as the deftroying 185000 men ifi the ^0r/tf« camp in one night; the Earth- quake, and the rolling away the (lone from our Saviour's Sepulchre ; the opening the pri- ibn doors for St. Teter^ and flriking ofF his chains ; and many other things of like nature.

Nay farther, fome things which are faid to be done by God himfelf, are in other places alio faid to be done by Angels, as being done at his command by their miniftry; as the refcu- ing of L^/', 2in(^dc^xoymgoi Sodom. So that •except we knew the full extent of all the na- tural Powers of all fuch invifible Beings as are fuperior to us, we cannot, in ^very inftance, ( nor is it neceflary that we fhould ) exactly diftinguifli fuch efTedts as are wrought by the imm.ediate power of God, from fuch as are •wrought by Angels at his Command, or by his Permiffion ; unlefs it be where the things •tbemfelves are particularly alcribed to his im- mediate power alone, or are of fuch a nature, as manifeftly to require a power equal to that of creating Something out of Nothing.

And as this is the cale of Good Angels, fb, I

think, there is no reafon to doubt, but that Evil

Angels alfb, or wicked Spirits, may, by God's

|)erminion5 work fome Miracles, without ex-

C c 4 cccdiDg

392 SERMON XIIL

ceeding their own natural power ; that is, may do, or afiift in doing, things, which humai) power alone cannot effed. This- feems to be plainly fuppofed in divers places of Holy Scri- pture. Thus ^ Mofes allows, that there might arife a Prophet or dreamer of dreams among the people, who might give a fign or a won- der, and that fign or wonder might come to pais, which was intended for icducing them to other Gods; and he fays, that God, by fuffciing this, would prove whether they did love the Lord their God with all their heart. And our BlefTed SavioUr "" plainly foretels, that there Hiould arife falfe Chrifts, and falfe Pro- phets, v.'hich fhould fliew great figns and won- ders, in fo much, that if it were poUi ble, they fhould deceive the very cled: : And we find that the Magicians of Egypt ^ by their en- chanrmenrs, did fbme of the very fame Mira- cles which '^ Mofes and Aaron did , though they were not able to go on to do the reft. There are fome, indeed, that fuppofe thefe Miracles of the Magicians were not really wrought, or that there was no change madp in the objed, as the beholders fuppofed, but that mens fenfes were only deluded ; for which

there

j^ b Deut. 13. I, ?, c Matth, 14. 24. ^ Excd. 8.

SERMON XIII. 393

there does not feem to be any ground from the Text. Nor does fuch a Suppofal folve a- ny part of the difficulty, or make the matter lefs miraculous. For it does not require a lefs power to alter all the organs of fenfation in a whole multitude of By-ftanders, than it does to alter the things that are the objedrs of fenfe, in a matter which is properly to be determined by our fcnfes. And if no farther Miracles had been wrought by Mofes and Aaron y but the fame which the Magicians did , or perfuaded the Beholders, upon the credit of their fenfes, that they did ; then the Beholders would have had no means of diftinguiiliing, by the Mira- cles, which of them aded by the Superior power ; but mud have had recourfe to Ibme other kind of evidence, to prove which of them was from God. For they could no more know whether Mofes did not delude their fen- fes, than they could whether the Magicians did. And befides^ there is this very great inconve- nience, in fuppofing all liich Miracles to have been delufions of fenfe, that it will be a great weakening of all arguments from matter of fadl, which relies upon the evidence of fenfe. For if the fame appearances, to all intents and purpofes, can be caufed when a thing is not

done.

394- SERMON XIII.

tdone , as when it is really done, how can I ever know wherher it is done or no ?

And thus they, who think there can be no true Miracles to us, but what are wrought by ^he immediate Power of God, will find it as difficult to prove when Miracles are really wrought, as it can be, fuppofing chem wrought, to prove what are from God, and what are from wicked fpirits. Indeed there is no quc- flion, bat that a great 'deal of Cheat and Im- pofture has pafs'd upon ignorant and luperfti- ,tious people for Miracle. And the Scripture tells us oi"" Lying wonders, which the Man of Sin lliould work, whofe coming is after the working of Satan, with all power, and Jigns and lying wonders. But this hinders Bot, but that fome of the works of Sataa may be really fuch figns and wonders as are truly above any human power to effed:. And thofe may be truly called Lying wonders, which are extraordinary and wonderful things really done in order to eftabliili a Jye,.or falle dodlrine. And the Apoftle feems to intimate as much, in telling us for what reafon God does juftly permit ihofe to be deceived, who

are

e z The[. z. 9.

SERMON XIII. 395

are not real and fincere Lovers of Truth : vv'ho perifli, hecaufe they received not the Love of the Truths that they might be fa- ved : and for this catife God /hall fend them firong dehifojj, that they may believe a lye. 'Now if it be confident with the Goodnefsof God, to fuflcr fuch as do not fincerely love the Truth, to be deceived by lying wonders of one kind, why not alfb of another ? No doubt the Devil, who was a Lyar from the be- ginning, is as willing to exert his natural power, as far as God permit?, for the decei- ving of mankind, as wicked men are. And the confequence of mens being deceived will be the fame in one cafe, as in the other. Bur,

^ 3. Another Condition requifite to make an efied: miraculous in the flvid: fenle, is, that it be done for fome evident End and defign, Every uhufual 6venr, ho\V (urprizing foever it may be in itfelf, and how unknown Ibever the caufe of it may be, is not any Miracle to us, anlefs it have fbmeplaiii defign, for which it is done, annexed to it. One very common name for Miracles is o-j?^*, ox'figns\ but nothing can be truly 2ifign, which is not plainly in- tended to give evidence to fomething bcfides it felf, fuch as the attefting to the Truth of ' fome

39^ SERMON XIII.

ibme particular Dodrine, or giving credit and authority to forae particular perfon, atwhofe inftaace fuch unufual ei^cd is produced. A mi- racle then, from its end or ufe, is to be con- fidered , as An ejfe^ froAuced in a manner contrary to the ufual method of providence^ i?y fome invifible intelligent Beings fu^erior to man, in order to give Teftimony to the Truth of Jomething which would otherwife appear, at leaf, doubtful or uncertain. The aext thing therefore which I would obferve is^

II, That the polTibility of Miracles, fuch as we have now been defcribing them, is not a thing contrary to Reafon ; and confequent- ly, that where- ever they have been wrought^ their credibility is capable of a Rational proof

Thofe who call themfelves T>€ifis, and yet difcard all Revelation as a fidion or human invention, generally fall into this perfuafion, that ther€ can be no fuch thing as a MiraclC:. Becaufe they fee the frame and order of the vi- able world difpofed in an uniform manner, and its motions preferved in a conftant and regu- lar courfe ; ^o that there is a conflant fucceP fjon of effects orderly following their caufes, as it were by a ftated law or rule ; from thence they imagine, the courfe of Nature to be fome-

thing

SERMON XIII. 39t

thing fb fix'd, as never, upon any occafioH:, to admit of any change : as if the material world were fomething entirely independent upon the will of God, and had Original pow- ers of its own , which no Intelligent Being could either limit or controul. From an indi- flindt and ambiguous ufe of the word Nature y (as r have formerly obferved^) men are apt to confound Caufes and EfTedts ; and from hence they afcribe, an Active principle to the things themfelves, which are merely paffive, and> are ad:ed upon. This leads them to think , that what they call the courfe of Nature can- not be altered, but by fome power fuperior to that power by which it is preferved. ThiSj^ in the end , will terminate in a fuppofition 3 that the world preferves it felf, or that there is no necefllty of the Divine direction or con- courfe, and by confequence, no neceflity thac it Ihould at firft be made by an Intelligent Be- ing. Whereas, if men would carefully diftin- guiili between that which really a<51:s, and that which is only adted upon, they might loon be convinced, that as the material world, or a- ny part of it, has no will or power of its own, nor can ever of it felf begin motion or action ; fo whatever is moved or adtcd, rauft original-

*■ Serm. b.

598 SERMON XIII.

ly and ultimately be moved or aded by fome intelligent and free Being ; and that therefore, all things which are done in the world, and all the effeds which are produced, either or- dinary or extraordinary j are either done im- mediately by God himfelf, or by fome inferior Intelligent Beings; Matter having no powers of its own, nor being capable of any law or rule of acSting, but what an Intelligent and Free Being impofes upon it ; no part of it ever ad:- ing, without firfl: being aded upon, So that,' properly Ipeaking, the Courfe of Nature iri general is nothing cKc but that continual uni- form manner in which the Supreme Intelligent Being produces certain effeds, according to his own will. And this manner of ading, in every particular inftant, depending upon his will, may if he fees fit, be as eafily altered at any inftant as continued. So that what we call a Miracle, requires no more power in, the real Agents than what we call the courfe of Nature. And the fame may be faid, as to Inferior or Crea- ted Intelligent Beings, as far as the compafs of their natural power , which God has be- llowed upon them, reaches : and how far it does reach we cannot certainly know. Men may, if they pleafe, call the working a Mira- cle a violation of, or contradiction to, the

laws 4

SERMON XIII. 39^

faws of Nature ; but then they fliould confl- dcr what they mean by laws of Nature, and not make a Free and Intelligent Being necel^ farily fubjedt to thole laws of motion, by which ir chufes ordinarily to prodaee fuch and fuch common efTcdts upon matter, which we there- fore call Natural, becaufe they are ulual and GOnftanc ; not that they are antecedently ne- eeffary, in refpedt of the firfl Agent, whether it be the Supreme, or any other Free and la- teliigent Being, which has a real and true pow- er of Acting, and not barely a capacity of be- hig adtcd upon. And from this way of rea- foning it follows , that Miracles are not im- po/Tible, if we believe the power of a free and intelligent Being, always actually concerned in the conftant prefer vation of what we call the Courfe of Nature : and conicquently, the Credibility of Miracles is capable of a Ra- tional proof Where-ever they are wrought they are matters of fad:, and may be proved, by proper evidence , as other fads are : and though I cannot give a mechanical account of the manner how they are done, becaufe they are done by the unufual Inrerpofition of an invifible Agent, fuperior, both in power and wifdom, to my felf ; I muft not therefore de- ny the fad which my own fcnfcs tcflify to be

doiie»

400 SERMON Xni

done. The Truth is, we can no more Iblve the ordinary Thanomena of nature, vvithouc having recourfe at lafl: to an Intelligent Being,' than we can thefe extraordinary ones which we call Miracles. In one cafe indeed we know more of the circumftances which go before and" follow, becaufe we fee the things oftner, and are more familiarly acquainted with them^ than we are in the other cafe ; but ilill the firfl mover is the fame in both : and as he te- ftifies the conftant interpofition of his provi- dence ading, either mediately or immediate- ly, in the one cafe ; fb does he likewiie tc- (lify an extraordinary interpofition, upon rare and extraordinary occafions, in the other. No man will fay, that it requires a greater power to drown the Earth, or to divide or dry up the Sea, than it did at firil to make them, and dill to preferve them as they are at prefent : and therefore, if I believe the one, though I can give no account of the manner how it was done, why fliould I be fb much concerned to find out the manner in which the other muft be done, or elfe to think it impollible ? A Miracle is fuppofed to be a thing which rarely happens, and only upon fpecial occafions, and therefore is not to be expedted in every age. But is it therefore incredible , that ever there

fliould

i

SERMON XIIL 40I

ihould have been any fuch things done, be- caufe they are not now done ? Or have I a- ny reafon to disbeHevc Miracles well attefted, and not repugnant either to the Goodnefs or Juftice of God, but, on the contrary, high- ly conducing to the more manifeft declarati- on of both, only becaufe they were done fe- veral ages ago ; any more than I have to dis- believe the more ordinary occurrences of Providence, which pafled before my own time, becaufe the fame occurrences in a con- tinued train, may perhaps never happen while I live ? I would by no means encourage an; unreafbnable credulity in any cafe, and much lefs in a cale of fo much moment : but if, to avoid this, men are refolved to beheve, that all the relations of fa6ts efteemed miraculous, are falle , how well attefted fbever they be ; they ought never to charge others with being too credulous : becaufe they themfelves then believe one general conclufion, as unreafona- ble as the moft abfurd relation of any miracle, can poflibly be. The true way to avoid cre- dulity , in either cale , is to confider proper evidence, and to be determined by that. But it is equally unreafonable , to believe every thing falfe, as to beheve every thing true, which depends upon the Teftimony of others.

D d Sup-

402 SERMON XIII.

Suppofing therefore, that Miracles, which arc extraordinary effeds, produced by fome Intelligent power, fupcrior to man, in order to give evidence to fomething befide them- ielves, do not in their nature imply any thing impofUble to be done, and by confequence are capable of being proved when they are done ; we are next to eonfider,

III. How we may diftinguilli fuch Miracles as are from God, and wrought in confirmati- on of fome divine Truth , from fuch as are wrought, or pretended to be wrought, in con- firmation of error and falfe dodtrine.

This is neceffary to be confidered, becaule we have already allowed, that a power, lels than Omnipotent , may work real Miracles. Andif we allow that there are Beings both good and bad, who are naturally, in power, far lii- perior to mankind ; unlels we fuppole them perpetually reftrained by God Almighty from ever producing any effecfl, which can become fenfible to us, though it be never fo much within the compafs of their natural power and will to efFe6t it ; then we mud endeavour to find out fome way to diftinguilh fuch unufual efTeds , as are occafionally produced by the

affiftance

SERMON XIII. 403

liffiftance of God Or Good Angels, from fuch as are wrought by the Devil and his Agents ; fincc, without Ibme means of diflindion, we cannot make any good ufe of either.

Now the difference, between theie two forts of Miracles, does not always depend upon one fingle point; but upon the confidering and comparing of fcveral circumftances taken to- gether : which fliould make us the more care- ful that we be not ralhly liarprized into a mi- flake, upon one fudden or fmgle appearance, before we have viewed the reft.

Marks of diftindtion proper to the form- ing a true judgment about the matter will arile, partly from the things which, are done ; that is, the Miracles themfelves ; and partly from the End for which they are done, or from the nature of that thing which is intended to be proved by them. And when both theie are fuch as are worthy of God, according to the beft natural notions which we can have of his Attributes and Perfedions, then we may juftly conclude, that they are from God) or from fuch powers as adt by his commi/Tion and direction.

I. As to the Miracles themfelves, Thole which are divine, will have fome apparent circutpftances of advantage, to diftinguilh them

D d a from

404 SERMON XIII.

from fuch as are either delufive or diabolical, if they are fincerely and carefully attended to. Upon comparifon, a confiderate Enquirer may difcover of what kind they are, either by tbeir Greatnefs, or Number, or Long continuance, or vifible tendency to the Good and benefit of men.

I. Their Greatnefs often difcovers whence they proceed : It was this which diftinguilhed the Miracles wrought by Mofes and Aaron ^ from thofe which were wrought by the Ma- gicians o\ Egypt. It is faid ^ , that They turned their rods into Serpents as Aaron did ; but Aaron's rod had this advantage, that it de- voured their rods. It is alfo faid , that upon turning the waters into blood, * the Magicians did fo with their enchantments. And again, ^ that as Mofes brought up frogs, fo the Ma- gicians likewile brought up frogs upon the land ^/ Egypt. But the deftroying thofe frogs; at the appointed time, is attributed to Mofes' only. And then, as to the turning the dull of the earth into lice, this the Magicians could not do, but owned it was the finger of God. Whether this exceeded abfolutely the Natural power of wicked Spirits, any more than the

produce-

8 Exod. 7. U. »y. ii. h Exod. 8, 7.

SERMON XIIL 405

producing of frogs ; or whether that power was here rcftrained which they were before permitted to cxercife, as it is hard for us to know, fo it is not neceffary to be determined : for however it was, the Magicians were forced to confels , that the power by which Mofes wrought his Miracles, was fuperior to that by which they wrought theirs. In \\]kz manner we find, that S'tmon Magus^ who had {o far deluded the people of Sajnaria with his Sor- ceries, (that is, either with real miracles, done by the afliftance of wicked Spirits, or at lead luch ftrange effecSts as they could not diftinguiOi from real, which to them was all one) that they concluded him to be the great power of God^ upon the appearance of the Apoftles was prefently put out of countenance, by the ex- ercife of a power which he could not pretend to , though he would gladly have purchafed it. So Elymas, atiother Sorcerer, was ftruck blind by St.Taul. And it is acknowledged by the Heathens themfelves, that the Miracles wrought by their Daemons orfalfeGods ceafed, and their Oracles were put to filence, about the time that Chriftianity begun to be preach- ed. y////^« ' himfclf owns the fad ^ though

P d 3 he

' Vid, Cyril, contra Julian, />. 198. Ed. Spanhem.

4o^ SERMON XIII

he would fain give another folution of it. Again ;

X. The Number of Miracles, and efpecially when they are of different kinds , is another mark of diftindion ; when not one or two of an obfcure or fufpicioiis nature, but naany, and unqueftionable fads , fuch as give great numbers of people, of all capacities and all par- ries, opportunity of feeing, and making ftridt enquiry into them.

Thus the Miracles of Mo/es, were not on- ly one or two things which the Magicians could not come up to, but many, of feveral diftincl kinds, and very remarkable, fuch as the whole nation were witneffes to. And thofe. of our Saviour were neither fevy nor private, but of many kinds , and wrought before vaft multitudes, both of friend's and enemies. The fads were undeniable, however they dilputed about the nature of that invifible power by which they were produced.

3 . When Miracles are of long continuance, either as to the works themfelves, being often lepeated upon proper occafions ; or as to the durable effeds of them ; when they makeluch a remarkable change in the courfe of things > as mufi be obferved by every one, and long yemember'd in the world, then they ihewth^

power

SERMON XIII. 407

power of God. Of this nature were the Mi- racles which God (hewed by Mofes^ in Egypt y in the Red Seay and in the Wildernels; and luch were the Miracles of Chrifl: and his Apo- ftles. They were not prefcntly over, ib as to make imprcffion upon men only for a httic time, and then, as it were, to vanifli ; but they lafted many years ; and there are vifible marks of the wonderful efTediS of them re- maining in the world to this day. Both Jews and Chriftians are a ftanding monument of them , and of the truth of thofe wonderful prophefies which accompanied them.

Thefe marks which 1 have hitherto men- tioned, are chiefly marks of Power. And where-ever Miracles are oppoled to one ano- ther, as in the cafe of Mojes and the Magici- ans for inftance, that which prevails, and puts to fllencc the other, mufl: needs proceed from the Superior power. This is both a reafona- ble and obvious way of judging in cafe of com- petition. But Power is not all : For,

4. And laftly. The Goodnefs of Miracle?, or their vifible tendency to the general good and benefit of maijl^ind, is a great fign of their being from God, or good Spirits employed under him. The nature of the facSl will have fome refemblance of its Author. Thofe won-

D d 4 dcrs

408 SERMON XIII.

ders which the Devil and his Agents work, will be either wicked and mifchievous, or at lead freakifh and fantaftical, fuch as ferve to no good purpofe, but only to amufe or affright the beholders, or to entangle them in fome farther evil. Such were generally the Mira- cles pretended to be wrought by the Daemons or falfe Gods of the Heathen , either full of cheat and impofture, fo as not daring to abide the light of a fair trial ; or when they had any thing real in them , it w^as mix'd with Ibme- thing either abiurd and ridiculous, or elle cruel and ill-natured, or impure and vile, fuch as none but a lying j wicked and unclean Spirit could aflift in. But divine Miracles are of a- nother kind : as they proceed originally from the Author of all good, fb they are likewife, in their nature and tendency, good and bene- ficial to men ; inftances of particular kindnels and companion, either to their Souls or bo- dies; and are never wrought but for great and weighty reafons. If we confider thofe that are mentioned in holy Scripture, w^e ihall find that they always tended to fome great and ex- cellent purpofe, fiich as the comfort and fup^ port of Good men, and deliverance from great and preffing danger. Sometimes indeed there appears a great mixture of Severity in fome of

them.

SERMON XIII. 409

them, but then fuch Severity was exercifed upon very wicked people, who were pad be- ing reclaimed to their duty, and was defigned for a (landing monument of God's indignation againft grievous olTenders : as the plagues of Egypt were indeed fevere miracles upon a cruel and tyrannical nation; but even thele were at the fame time great inftances of mer- cy, to an opprelTed and lufFering people, who were thereby delivered from a long and cruel bondage ; as well as evidences of that divine Revelation which was now to be made to them. And all our Saviour's miracles were inftances of the greateft charity to men : ef- feds of power diredted by goodnefs , and marked with the plaineil characters of Divine Wifdom and Compaflion.

Hitherto I have mentioned thole marks which help to diftinguifli the miracles them- felves. But then,

X. The End for which miracles are wrought, i. e. the dodlrine intended to be proved or confirmed by them, is like wife to be confi- dered, in order to judge truly from whence they proceed. For if it be luch as is plainly unworthy of God, or contradid:ory to his perfediions and moral attributes ; or if it e- vidently overthrow what he has already efta-

blilhed

4IO SERMON XIII.

blillied by many plain and unqueftionable mi- racles, then another miracle cannot be fuffi- cient to prove it. For miracles can only be a teftimony of the truth of foraething pofTible to be true. Neither is the tryal of rniracles by this touchftone at all unreafonable (for it is not proving in a circle, as I ihall have oc- cafion to fliew hereafter, when I come to con- ilder the nature of that aflurance, or evidence which miracles give.) Mofes gives this plain direction, where the miracles are iuppofed to be real, which are wrought by a falfe pro- phcr, or at leafl not otherwife to be diftin- guifhed. '^ If there ar'tfe among you a pro- fhet, or a dreamer of dreamsy and giveth thee a fign or a wonder ^ and the flgn or the 'wonder come to fafs^ whereof he fpake un- to thee, faying. Let us go after other Godsy to ferve them, thou fhalt not hearken unto the words of that frophet. For the Lord your God froveth you, to know whether ye lo^e the Lord your God with all your hearty and with all your foul. And he gives this reafon, why fuch a prophet ibould be treated as a wicked impoftor, beeaufe he hath fpo- ken to turn you away from the Lord your

God,

^ Dent. I 3. I.

SERMON XIII. 411

God, who brought you out of the land of Egyft. No miracles are fufficient to efta- bliihthe worfhip of a falfeGod, which would be contrary both to our natural notions of the true God, and in the Ifraelites contrary to thofe many and great miracles which he had wrought in delivering them out of the land of Egyft. God might therefore fuffer falfe prophets to work miracles, to try the fmce- rity of his people, having before-hand given them this caution, and having like wife laid down a plain and fure Rule, to diftinguifli what prophets were from him, if they would buc carefully and honeftly attend to it.

There is indeed another good Rule laid down, for diftinguifhing between the true or real, and falfe or pretended prophets, which is by the Event, or judging of their pretence^ by the iflue, ^ If thou fhalt fay in thine heart. How Jhall we know the word which the Lord hath not fpokeu ? When a prophet Jfeaketh in the Name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come tofafs, that is the thing which the Lord hath not fpoken. But this cale does not belong to our prefent confideration : for though real and true pro- phecy ■ii 11^ 1 1 .,, I I ■ II ■

• Deut. 18. 22..

412 SERMON XIII.

phecy be indeed a miracle, yet a preteudiflg to Prophecy is not fo : For it is no more than what any confident impoftor may affume : whofe pretences are eafily confuted, when the event proves contrary. But where there is no event to judge by, we muft have fome other evidence of the truth and fincerity of any pretended prophet, before we are obliged to give credit to him ; and then the foregoing Rule is to take place. And the fame will now hold under the Chriftjan Dilpenfation. Fo^ the Dodrine of ChriR' being a Revelation e^ very way worthy of God, and being efta- bliiliedand confirmed by fuch miracles as^ both for number and kind , for evidence and great- nefe, are beyond all reafonable contradidtion^ is now itfelf a touchftone for trying ail future dod:rines. And whatever Spirit fball contta^ did this, is not of God. As St. Job^i fays. By this we know the Jpirit of Truth and the fftrtt of Error. And therefore St. Taul plainly declares, "" that if either himfelf or mi Angel from heaven Jhould preach any con- trary doBrine^ he ought not to be believed ; becaufc no dodrine could receive io great con- firmation, in any kind, as the Gofpel had al* ready received.

SERMON

«" Gal I. 8,

SERMON XIV.

Vxt2ic\\tA September the ift, 171 8.

s'Ma

St. John iii. 2.

— — Rahhiy we know that thou art a : Teacher come from God : for no man

can do thefe MiracleSy that thou do- . eft^ except God he with him.

N my former difcourfe upon thelc words I propofed to confider thefc fcveral particulars.

I. To lliew what wc are to underfland by a Miracle.

II. That

414 SERMOK XIV.

II. That the polfibiliry of Miracles is not contrary to Reafon; and confequently that whercever they have been wrought, their credibility is capable of a rational proof.

III. How we may diftinguifh fuch Miracles as are from God, and wrought in confirma- tion of Divine Truth, from fuch as are wrought, oi: pretended to be wrought, in confirmation of Error and Falfe Dod:rine.

IV. Wherein that alfurance confifls, which Miracles, thus diftinguilh'd, give us^ that the Perfon employed in working them has a Di- vine commifijon, or is a Teacher fent from God.

V. What evidence we now have, from the Miracles anciently wrought, that the Chriftian Dodtrine, contained in Scripture, is truly a Divine Revelation, and to be always embraced as fuch.

The three firfl: of thefe particulars \ have al- ready fpoken to, in a former dilcourfe, and Ihall now, without repeating what was then faid, proceed to the fourth, which is. To fhew, wherein that alfurance Confifts, which Miracles, lo diftinguilhed, as before defcribed, can give us, that the perfon employed in working them has a Divine Commiffion, or

is

SERMON XIV. 415

is a Teacher fent from God : for upon rhi? alTurance, whatever it is, the force of Nico- demus's reafoning here in the Text is ground- ed. And upon this mufl: be grounded all the teftimony that miracles can give to any do dtrine. Now allowing that luch miracles, as are wrought by any pcrfon, proceed from a Divine Power, the Queflion is. How far they fecure us of the veracity of that perfon who appears to be the inrtrument in working them? Or what connection there is between the truth of the miracle, and the truth of his do- ctrine ? And the anfwer to this in iliort is. That our affurance in this cafe depends upon our natural notions of the Truth and Good- ncfs of God, which we believe to be as effen- tial and necelTary Attributes of an infinitely perfecSt Being, as Power and Wifdom. He cannot deceive any more than he can be de- ceived. And therefore, as w^e cannot con- ceive it to be a thing becoming, or worthy of the Divine Majefty, to work a miracle for no end or purpolc at all, fo much lefs can we conceive it to be confident with the perfedion of his Nature, to work one on purpofe to de- ceive an innocent and fmcere feeker of truth. It cannot be thought confident with infinite Goodnels and Veracity to give fuch counte- nance

SERMON XIV. 41^

nance to an impoftor. This would be like fealing him a Commiffion to deceive in his Name, who is particularly called A God of Truth. Now that all men naturally have this- notion of God, that he neither can be decei- ved himlelf, nor intend to deceive others in' what he declares to them, is evident, not on- ly from the confelfion of the wifefl: Heathen Moralifls, ^ who had nothing but natural light to guide them, who conftantly argue upon this fnppofition , as an allowed principle a- mong luch as had a true fenfe of natural Re- ligion: but likewife becaufe thofe who go about to diiprove or unlettle any part of Re- vealed, or pretended Revealed, Religion, al- lume the fame principle ; when they attempt to deftroy its credit, by adigning fomething in it which they imagine not reconcileable to the truth of things. So that the principle is allowed, both by thofe who aflert and thofe who deny Revelation. And which is yet more, unlefs Truth and Veracity be a perfe- d:ion lb necefTary to the Divine Nature, that

we

PUtt de Re^tth. lib, 1, pag. 382..

SERMON XIV. 417

we may entirely rely upon it in all cafes, we can have no affurance even of the truth and certainty of our own Faculties ; but may, foir ought we know, be under a perpetual delu- fion, in thofe things where we think we have the cleared and moft diflind: perception ; and and confequently can never be able to judge aright of truth or falfliood in any cafe. For if the Author of our Being be not abfolutely a God of Truth, the very frame of our Un- derflanding may be fuch as to be always de- ceived.

But fince our fundamental notion of God is. That he is a Being of all poflible perfe- ction : And fince Truth and Fidelity are al- lowed to be Moral perfections neceffary to art Intelligent Being, we cannot fuppofe him de- ficient in thefe, without derogating from the allowed perfection of his Nature ; much lefs can we afcribe the contrary to him : which yet we muft neceffarily do, when we imagine^ that he really employs his power to give cre- dit to a falfliood, or authorizes any man to Work a miracle in his Name, to confirm any declaration contrary to truth ; or that he fiif- fers any man to ufe fuch a power^ as cannot be diftinguilh'd from Divine, in confirmation of an error, or human fidion , without giv-

Ee ing

4i8 SERMON XIV.

ing fome fuilicient means to an honed raind' to difprove him if he attempts it. And there- fore the man in the Gofpel, who had been Born Wind, and was miraculoufly cured by our bleOed Saviour,'' went upon a natural ground when he argued thus with the Jews^ Why herein is a marvelhm thing y that ye know not from whence he isy. and yet he hath o^ fenedmtne Eyes. Now we know that God heareth not finners ; bat if any man be a worjhipper of God and doth his will, him he heareth^- — and if this man were not of God he could do nothing. The Jews had juft be- \ fore declared, that they knew, or were fully perfuaded, that God fpake unto Mofes ; And therefore they profefs'd themfelves his Difci- ples. But now how did they know this, but fey the evidence of thofe miracles which*M<?- fes wrought in the Name of God ? At this this therefore the man juftly wonders, that they Ihould be fo unreafonably partial, and fliould not upon the fame evidence believe, that Jefus was from God, as well as Mofes. This is certainly a good argument,, in parti- cular againft thofe who profefs'd fo great a reverence for Mofes ^ arid whofe whole re- vealed

b ^e^,9. 30,

SERMON XIV. 4.19

vealed ReIio;ion was owned to be cdablilhed upon the truth of his Miracles, and who were taught by that Religion to expert, that the MeJ//as, when he came, Ihould work Mira- cles alfo ; not only becaufc that was the uiual way, by which God had given atteftation to his former Prophets among them ; butbecaufe the MeJJias in particular was to be a Prophet like unto Mofes ; and their own former Pro- phets had foretold, that he lliould Work ma- ny Miracles. This made thofc that were mod unprejudiced among them, when they faw the Miracles which Jefus did, enquire whether this were not indeed the Chrift, and fay, *" JVhen Chrift comet b, Jhall he do more Miracles than thefe which this man hath done ? But though this argument lias a more immediate force in it againft the Jews, who Jived under the profefTion of a belief of mi- racles, yet it is not without a natural founda- tion in Reafon, even in refpe(5t of all that have any juft fenfe of the Perfedion of Di- vine Providence.

I have before ''fhewn, that Miracles cannot

be look'd upon as things impoffible, unlefs it

be by thofe who exclude an intelligent and free

E e X Provi-

'Joh. 7, ^l, <* Ses the Joregoinz Si^rnon,

420 SERMON XIV.

Providence from the conftant government of what we call the courfe of Nature: which makes the Epcurean Poet," when he i*idi- cules Miracles, as fit only to be believed by Je'ui^s , afTert it, as his fettled opinion, that there is no fuch thing as "Divine Trovideitce any way concerned in the effeds of Nature, whatever happens, ordinary or extraordinary. But as thofe, who own the world to be go- verned by the powerful diredion of a wife Providence, cannot reafonably deny the pof^ fibility of Miracles, when there is a proper occafion for them ; fo neither can they, who believe the Moral pcrfedions of the Divine Nature, reafonably fuppofe Divine Miracles e- ver to be intended to give countenance to any deceit or falfliood ; fmce this would as effectually deftroy our natural notions of the Truth and Goodnefs of God, as denying their polTibility would deftroy thofe of his Power and Wifdom.

Upon thefe confiderations therefore I think we may juftly conclude, that whatever Re- velation is attended with fueh miracles, as I

have

— -Credat Jiid-.KUS apella

Xon ego. Namque Deos didici fecurum agcre aevum ;

Ncc, fi quid Miri faciat Natura, Deos id

Triftes ex alto cacli demittere tedo. Horat. Sat.^.lih. r.

SERMON XIV. 421

have before delcribed Divine miracles to be, muft neceffarily be a divine Revelation ; and that we cannot othervvife be deceived by it, but either by our own negh'gence, in not fuf- ficienrJy attending to the terms in which it is dehvered, and thereby miftaking its meaning ; or by wilfully perverting the fcnfe and defiga of it through partiality, prejudice, or fbme prevailing pafTion, contrary to a fmcere and unprejudiced love of truth. And I cannot readily think of any objed:ion, to which this way of reafoning, from the Truth of God to the truth of Revelation thus attefted, is liable, but only this, That a perfon, who has once wrought true miracles in the name of God, and thereby gained a juft credit to his dod:rine, may pofTibly afterwards revolt from the truth, and by virtue of that credit and authority, which his former miracles gave him, may teach another dod:rine, for which he has no fuch commiflion. And this is a cafe which may be fuppofed poffible, from what St. Taul fays, ^Though we ft. e. himlelf or any other Apoftle) or an Angel from heaven^ preach a- ny other Gofpel unto yoUy than that ye have received^ let him be accurfed. Now to clear

Ee 3 the

f Gd. I. 8.

422 SERMON XIV.

the objedion which may be made from hence, concerning the difficulty of difcerning between J true and pretended Revelations, there are thele two things to be confidered.

i. Though it befuppofed, that a perfon pnce truly commiffioned by God to declare his i will, may pofiibly forfake or tranfgrefs the terms of that commiffion, and declare Ibme- thing afterwardSjWhich is not the will of God ; yet it cannot be conceived agreeable to the Di- vine goodnefs and truth, that God ihould fuf- fer his credentials to continue with him after fuch a defection ; that is, it is no way pro- bable, that he fnouid be ailifled with the lame power of working miracles, after his revolt- ing from the truth, which was at firfl: given him to confirm it. And to this purpofe what our Saviour faid to his difciples, upon occa- fion of one that cail out devils in his name, whom they forbad to do it, becaufe he did not follow them, is very confiderable : § For- bid him noty (lays he) for there is no man 'which Jhall do a miracle in my name^ that can lightly fpeak evil of me. While this power is continued to him, he cannot readily be my enemy. God can eafily withdraw his creden- tials

8 Mark 9. yj.

SERMON XIV. 423

rials from one that begins to make an ill ufe of them ; and he will leave no honed mind under a nccedity of being deluded by him. But it is alfo te be confidered,

i. That thofe perfons to whom any dod:rine is propounded, as a Revelation from God, are fuppoled both to have a capacity, and to lie under a natural obligation, to make an honc^ and diligent ufe of their ownreafon and judg- ment, in diftingurlhing between greater and lefs evidence, as well as in difccrning when one dod:rine contradicts or differs from an- other. They are likewife fuppofcd to have the Knowledge of the common principles of jiatural Religion to go upon, and to ad: ac- cording to thofe principles, that they may not be deceived in admitting any pretended Revelation which contradids them. And therefore fuppofe they were once convinced, hy a plain and unqueftionable miracle, that a mefTdge delivered to them by fuch a pcrfon, was really a meffage from God, this ought not to make them abfolutely depend upon e- very other meffage, which the fame pcrfon might poffibly deliver afterwards, fo far as to receive them all without examining, whether they agreed with that original meifagc, for which his credentials were firft given him. Ee 4 For

424 SERMON XIV,

For this would be an unreafonable credality, which, if not guarded againft, might lead to ihe deftrudtion of all rational faith in revela- tion ; inafmuch as it would expofe a man tQ the belief of contradid:ions, as often as a man, ^hat had once a true Revelation, fhould think fit, upon the credit of that, to pretend to an- other which was not true. And to this purpole there is a remarkable inftance, in the old Te- flament, of a Prophet puniilied for too eafy a credulity in the pretended Revelation of an- other prophet, without confidering, how far a former certain Revelation made to himfelf, which it contradicted, was to be attended to in oppofition to it. The cafe was this. ^ A man of God was fent from Jtidah, with a prophecy againft the altar at Bethel, the truth of which he confirms by an immediate Sign or Miracle, both upon the altar itfelf, and upon the King, who burnt incenfe upon it, when he offered violence to him. And the fame Revelation, of which he had this con- vidion, directed him from God, not to eat or drink in that place, nor to return the fame way that he came, after he had delivered his meffage. This direc^iion he obferved for a

time,

h I Kings 13. ' ■ "'"

SERMON XIV. 425

time, and in virtue of it refulcd the King's in- vitation. But another old prophet, falfly pretending the meffage of an Angel, feduces him back, and perfwades him to eat and drink : And while they fit at the table together has a real meffage from God revealed to him, de- claring, that the prophet, who had thus fiif- fered himfelf to be deceived into an ad: of dif- obedience, lliould be puniflied for this offence, by not having his carcafe come into the fe- pulchre of his fathers. Which prediction was foon verified upon him, by his being ilain by a Lyon , before he could return home. Now the obfervation which I would make from this account, pertinent to our prefent purpofe, is this ; That the prophet, who had a divine diredion given to himielfby a Reve- lation, of the truth whereof he was perfedly afTured, both by the internal convidion of his own mind, and by the outward teftimony of a miracle added to it, ought not to have fuf- fered himfelf to be countermanded, even by one that had the reputation of a true prophet, without as great, or greater evidence, that God had dilcharged him from the firfl: com- mand. The fubjed: of the command indeed does not appear to be in its own nature indi- fpenfable, and confequently it might have

been

42^ SERMON XIV.

been fuperfeded by the fame Authority which gave it ; but then, he ought to have had as plain and full affurance of the Revocation, as he had at firft of the Command, or clih , to diiobey was a raanifell: tranfgreffion of a known duty. Whether he had an incHnation to (lay and be entertained at Bethel, which might make him defirous to have the Command re- laxed, and therefore too ready to behevc it fo ; or whether he had only too impHcit a confidence in the old Prophet, becaufe of his age and authority, and therefore did not give himfelf time enough to weigh the evidence for and againft his pretended mefTage, is not very material. Certain it is, that his Credu- lity was culpable, in being determined by a lefs evidence againfl: a greater, in a matter of divine Revelation.

Now to apply this to the cafe put by St. Taul, of an Apoftle, or an Angel from heaven, preaching another GolJ^el, or decla- ring other terms of Savation, than what were at firft declared by the Gofpel of Chrift, which had been received upon the higheft evidence. We may juftjy reafon, that they ought not to be regarded by any one, who knew and be- lieved the divine Authority of the firft Pub- H/hers; becaufe two coutradidtory Revelati- ons

SERMON XIV. 427

ons cannot both be from God ; and the firft being admitted upon the greatcfl evidence of divine Authority that the matter is capable of, whoever pretends afterwards, by that Au- thority, to offer another, contradiding what he has before dchvered, may indeed weaken the credit of the former, as far as his tedimo- ny goes, but can never eftabhlh the credit of the latter : becaufe I can never have greater aflurance of the truth of any Revelation what- ever, than I naturally have of this firft princi- ple of all reafbning, that Contrad't^ions can- not be true^ fince if it were fuppofed poffible that they could, then there could be no diffe- rence between Truth and Faliliood, but both might be the fame.

Upon the whole therefore, the evidence which we have from Miracles of the truth of any Revelation , fuppofes the Truth of our own faculties, and the firft principles of Rea- fbn. It luppofes likewife a belief of the Be- ing of God , and the perfedion of Goodnefs and Truth in the Divine nature. And what- ever is contradidory to thefe cannot be capa- ble of any proof, becaufe the argument to prove by, and the thing intended to be prov- ed, deftroy one another. And therefore, if the evidence of divine Miracles is ever alledg-

cci

428 SERMON XIV.

ed in proof of any dodtrine, contradidtory to the divine Nature and Attributes, we may be fure that there is feme miftake in the appli- cation, fince one Truth can never really con- tradid: another. And this makes it a ..very proper undertaking fometimes, to iliew the realbnableneis of the whole Chriftian Revela- tion; and that it is a do6lrine every way worthy of God, even at the fame time that we prove its divine Authority by unqueftio- nable Miracles. ^ For it may be obfervcd, up- on this occafion, that as, in the proof of any relation whatever, the nature of the evi- dence, and the nature of the thing to be pro- ved, are both to be taken into confideration ; fo in the cafe of a Revelation faid to be from God, and the evidence which is brought to prove it fuch , that is , Miracles, or Divine Teftimony, both the nature of the Revelation it felf, and the nature of the Miracles , are carefully to be attended to , before we can truly judge, whether the proof, and the thing to be proved, anfwer one another.

And this is not proving in a circle, as fome weakly imagine, but is the neceffary way which is ufed in all cafes of Teftimony what- ever. A thing muft be granted to be capable of being proved; that is, it rauft be fuppofed

polTible,

i

SERMON XIV. 42^

poffiblc, before any evidence whatever can be allowed to prove it.

To put the cafe m a plain and familiar in- ftance. A man, with whofe character we are altogether unacquainted, gives us, in writing, a long and particular relation of many things in a foreign country, of which we have never had the like account before : and left we iliould doubt his veracity, he brings ample Teftimonials of divers perlbns of great credit, well known to us, to vouch, that they have long known him to be a perfon of great in- tegrity, and every way well qualified to give a juft account of all the matters relating to the countrey of which he treats. Now if^ upon reading and confidering his relations, we find nothing in them contradid:ory to reafon, or inconfiftent with it Mf, then we are induced, upon the Teftimony of his vouchers, to be- lieve his account. But if we doubt, or have an ill opinion of the integrity of thofe per- fons, whom he brought to teftify for his ve- racity, or have reafon to fufped: their Tefti- monials forged, then the relation which he- gives of foreign matters, how credible foever it may be in it Mf, (and though we think it true for other reafons,) as it can receive no cre- dit from fuch infufficient Teftimony, fo neither

caa

430 SERMON XIV.

can it give any credit to it; but it will ftand juft in the fame (late of doubt and fufpicion that it did before. So that here is no proving of the Teflimonials , and the Relation each by the other in a Circle. But yet if the relation, for which this evi- dence is alledged, be either manifeftly contra- did:ory to itf elf, or to fome plain and evi- dent principle of truth, then it is beyond the poffibility of being proved by any evidence whatever, and ihews, that the teftimony brought to favour it was either falfe or mi- ftaken. This inftance is eafily applied to the matter before us, and lliews, that the truth of the dodtrine or revelation is not brought to prove the truth of the miracles, becaufe the fame doctrine would be true in itfelf, though no miracles were wrought to confirm it to us: But Divine miracles were wrought to affure us, that this true dodlrine was from God. And yet on tfie other hand, a dod:rine evi- dently falfe cannot be proved true by any mi- racles, but deftroys the Credit and Divinity of fuch miracles as are pretended to confirm it : Since nothing can prove a thing to be what it is not.

The whole is no more than this : If the miracles are Divine, the dodrine ro which |

they

SERMON XIV. 431

they give teftimony is Divine alio : and therefore prove the Antecedent, and the Confequcnce will follow. But on the contrary, if the do- d:rine is fuppofed falfe, the miracles, that of- fer to prove it, cannot be true. And there- fore to prevent this confequence, ihew, that there is nothing to be objedted to the truth of the dodtrine. And this is no more argu- ing in a circle, than what is contained in e- very ^/^^^<?^/V^/Syllogilm.

And thus from the nature of human Tefti- mony and the evidence it gives to fuch Rlati- *ons as are fupported by it , we may fee the connexion between Divine Teftimony, or Miracles, and Divine Revelation : only there is this advantagious difference on the fide of Divine Teftimony, that it is a more certain proof of what it is intended for, than any Human Teftimony can be, becaufe it is infal- lible, and proves the truth of what it is right- ly applied to, beyond all pofTibiliry of doubt- ing. And if we are led into any miftakes by it, the ground of them muft be cither in our Hiifunderftanding of the dodlrine , or mifap- plying the evidence to fomerhing elfe than that for which it was firft intended : For if a dod:rine be contradi(Story to the Divine nature, as no miracles can prove it true, fo we may

depend

432 SERMON XIV.

depend upon it, thac no Divine miracles wete ever wrought with an intent to prove it. Our natural notions of the truth of God will not allow us to have iuch an unworthy thought of him. And herein confifts that aflurance which divine miracles give us, that the per- Ibn imploy'd in working them has a divine commiflion, or is entrufted with a declara- tion of the will of God. I now proceed in the next place to lliew,

V. What evidence we fiOw have from the miracles anciently wrought, that the Chriftian* Dodtrine, contained in Scripture, is truly a Di- vine Revelation, and to be always embraced as fuch. The former confideration went no farther, than to flievv, in general, the fuffici- ent force of divine miracles, to convince a reafonable man of the truth of that dod:rine or Revelation, for which they are given in evidence; and therefor'e immediately, and in the firfl: inftance, can refpecSt only thofe who lived at the time when fiich Revelation was made, and fuch evidence given in confirma- tion of it, and both applied to their own fenfes, fo that they had the utmoft opportunity poi- fible of enquiring into, and comparing every circumftance. But as for us, who live at this

diflanee

SERMON XIV. 433

diflance of time, and never had the happinefs to hear thofe that had the original commif; fion to declare this dod:rine, nor to fee their credenrials, the cafe is different. And there- fore, fuppofing all the foregoing argument granted, yet fome will lay, what is that to us ? or, how are we afPedJcd by it ? Now to this i anfwer, in fliort, that we are juft fo far af- fedted by ir, as we can have any certainty ofthcfe two things:

I. That fuch miracles were really wrought 5 And

X. That the dod:rine contained in Scrip- ture is the fame doctrine which was then re- vealed, and for which they were wrought.

And for both thefe we have as good evi- dence as the nature of the things is capable of, which is as much as any reafonable man can defire. Befides an inward and fupernatural Revelation from God to a man's own mindy of which none can be eonfcious, but the per- fon himlelf to whom it is immediately made,' there are but two pofTible ways> whereby we can be aflured of any matter of fad:, as the thing now in queftion is. The firft is the evidence of our own Senfes, afid the fecond fs a fufficicnt teftimony of credible witnelTes. The fitfi of thefe kinds of afTujfaace no man

F f €afif

434 SERMON XIV.

can have for the thoufandth part of thofe things which yet he mod firmly beheves and ads upon, withour any fcruple, in all the af- fairs of life ; and iC would be both uureafon- able and endlefs to defire ir. Thofe who lived in the time of our Saviour and his Apo- ftles, could not all of them have this kind of evidence, though great numbers had it. Much the greater part of the men of that genera- tion muft neceflarily depend upon the tefti^ mony of others, which is the iecond way of aflurance. But now this being of divers kinds, and admitting of different degrees of credibi- lity, according to the capacity, integrity, means of information, and the like different advantages, which thofe have who give tefli- mony: And their manner of delivering it be- ing alfo of two kinds, by word of mouth, or in writing, we ought to consider, whether we have not, in all thefe relpeds, the very beft kind of teflimony that we can defire. Liv- ing evidence, of thofe who were eye and ear witneffes, can belong to none, but thofe who lived in the fame age when the things are fup- pofe J to be done, or very near it. And there- fore after ages cannot have this way. But then they may have what is equivalent to it ; that is, they may have all the particulars con- veyed

SERMON XIV. 435

Veyed down to therq in writing, which may be more authentick than any fingle oral evi- dence, if we could have ir, can be. A Re- cord or Hiftory, written at the time when the things are done^ by perfons of unqueftion- able integrity, and capable, in all refpe(5ts, of giving true evidence, is the bed human ground of affurance that any fad: at fuch a diftance is capable of Now the Miracles of Chrift and his Apoftles, and an account of the Revela- tion which they m»ade, have flood upon fuch a record from the very time. For the fame Original Hiftory which gives an account of the Miracles, gives us alfo an account of the DodJrine, for the eftabliihing of which thoie Miracles are faid to be wrought, together with many particular circumftances attending the preaching of it. So that whatever evidence we have, that the relation of miracles record- ed in Scripture is true, we have the fame evi- dence, that the dod:rine of the Scriptures is the fame which was then delivered. And ac- cordingly thefe are now infeparable parts of the fame Record, and muft (land or tall toge- ther. And unlefs we are refolved to disbe- lieve every thing for which we have not the immediate evidence of our own fenfes, we

F f X have

•

436 SERMON XIV.

have as good rational ground of alTurance, of the truth of this record, as we candefire; thit is, as much as any unprejudiced man would require in any other cafe.

But if it be objedted, that this being a matter of the greateft moment of all others, we ought not to be content with the lame kind of evidence, which may reafbnably fa- tisfy us in other cafes of lefs concern: To this I anfwer.

I . That the very making of this objedlion is a (Ign, that rrien are not fb fincere lovers of truth, and fo impartial in the embracing of it as they ought to be. For if when two things equally evident are propofed, a man iliould iay, 1 will believe the one, becaufe I have no concern in it ; but I will not beliete the othcrjbccaufe, if I do, it muftmake a great alteration in my condudt, which I am refolved againft. Would not this be looked upon as an unreafonable prejudice ? The great mo- ment of the thing is indeed a very good rea- fon, why we fhould be more than ordinarily inquifitive about it, that we may get as per- fed a knowledge of it as we can, and be ve- ry diligent to examine into the truth of iVy and confidcr well the evidence upon which rt

is

i

SERlviON XIV. 437

is grounded ; but it is no argument againft believing it upon fufficient evidence, or for peremptorily requiring more than is necelTary, though we may be glad when, upon enquiry, we find it more abundant than we expedted. A truth of fmall confequence may fometimes, by the very nature of it, have a greater num- ber of evidences to it, than another which is of more moment ; and yet if the latter have fufficient to prove it, we ought to befatisfied. But,

1. The Providence of God has taken care to give fufficient fatisfadtion even to this pre- judice alfb, and to remove the very ground of the fcruple : and that by thefe two ways.

1. By unqueflionable Records of our Re- ligion, and the firfl evidence by which it was proved. And,

2. By divers fucceffive fubfequent Evidences given to it, which do more particularly affedt the following ages.

X. The Records of our Religion, both as to the Miracles and the Dodtrine, have better grounds of credibihty , and more evident marks of truth than any other ancient Hiflo- ry whatever, if we confider either the Books tberafelves, in which the things are defigned-

Ff3 ly

438 SERMON XIV.

ly delivered ; or the collateral Evidence to the fads, occafionally delivered by thofe who were no parties to them.

I. As to the Books themfelves, which con- tain the furam of what we believe of the Dodrine and Miracles of Chrifl. They were written by feveral perfons, in different places, yet all of them well acquainted with every circumflance of what they write ; for they either heard and faw every thing themfelves which they relate, or were conftant compa^ nions of rhofe that did, and had their attefta- tion to the truth of their tellimony. And they could have no poffible worldly intereft, which could induce them to affert what they did, if they had not been perfedly perfua- ded of the truth of it : but on the contrary, they knowingly ventured their lives for af- ferting it, and laid them down in defence- of it. And that moreover they had the aflift- ance of the Spirit of God, direding them in all neceffary truth, they proved by the tefti- mony of thofe Miracles, which God enabled them to work, both at and after the time of giving their teftimony. But this isfomething farther than what I now infifl; upon. Thefe writings were ibon diiperfed into great num- bers

SERMON XIV. 4.39

bers of hands, and tranflatcd very early into many languages, kept in many places, far diftant from one another, with a religious care, conftantly read in publick, that all might be acquainted with them, and fo not eafily capable of being falfificd. And though the conftant ufe of thofe writings made them be much ofcner tranfcribed than any other books, by which means there mufl: of necedity, without a miracle, be many literal or verbal miftakes, or variations in the manner of wai- ting, yet this great number of copies, which may be compared together, and io redtify'd by one another, has been a great fecuriry to all the effential dodtrine cod rained in them. And farther, that thefe books were written at the time pretended, and by the perlbns to whom they are afcribed, we have a more univerfal and conftant teftimony, in every feveralage fmce they were writ, than can be produced for any other writings {o ancient; and this allowed without contradidion by the firft enemies of Chriftianity, who undertook to write againft it, who had better means of information than thofe that came alter them, and would have been willing enough to have objected againft their being genuine, if there

F f 4 had

440 SERMON XIV.

had been any colour for it. And now are not fuch writings as thefe a more undoubted account of the Dodirine and Miracles of Jefus Chrift and his Apoftles, than any that can be produced for the life and actions of any o- ther the moll eminent perfons that lived (6 long fiiice ? I think no man offers to queftion, whether there were fuch a perfon as Alex- ander the Greats who fubdued the ^Perjian Empire, and made other very great conquefts in the world ; and yet there is not now ex- rant any particular Hiftory of any confider- able part of his great ad;ions, which can pre- tend to have been written by any that knew him, or till feveral ages after his time. Pta- lomy indeed, the firft King of Egypt of that name, and Artftobulm^ two of his great Offi- cers and companions, both writ his Hiftory ; but their writings are long fmce loft:. And if they were not, yet ' Arr'ian^ who perufecj them, tells us, that in many things they did nor agree together, and that therefore, where they differed, he was forced to ufe his own difcretion, and to chufe fometimes from one, #n4 fometimes from ptie other, what he

Ithought

j See Arrian. in Procemh.

SERMON XIV. 441

thought mofl: probable. And as for other writers upon the fame fubjed:, though they were very numerous, yet there was a won- derful difagreement among them : more and more inconfiftent accounts having never been given of any man. And yet from fuch Me- moirs as theie, at the third or fourth hand, and fo on, the Hiftory of that great Prince is deHvered down to us. And we make no fcruple of believing the fubftance of it, not- withftanding the confiderable differences a- mong the firft writers in many particular cir» cumftances. And the like may be faid for almofl: any ancient human Hiftory. Now does not this give the Golpel Hiflory a very great advantage, in point of credibility, above any other, if we only cgnfider the Authors by whom it was delivered to us ? Bur,

X. We have alfb very confiderable colla- teral Evidence to the fads recorded in thofe writings, occafionally given by thofe who were no parties to them. There arc many remarkable pafTagcs, both in Jewijh and }ieathen Authors, Greek and Roman ^ which accidentally confirm the truth of thofe ac- counts which we have in the Gofpel Hiftory, in point of Time and of Perfons, and of

divers

442 SERMON XIV.

divers extraordinary particular facSts. But thefc having been frequently taken notice of, both by ancient and modern Apologifls for Chri- ftianity, I fhall not now repeat them. I ihall only by the way obferve one thing, which feems to be very confiderable in this caft ; That as to the Miracles of our bleffed Saviour, the bitterefl: and moft learned pri- mitive enemies to Chriftianity, fuch as Celfns and Torphyry^ have given iufficient teftimo- ny to them in point of fad, even by their very way of writing againft them. For though they fcem fometimes willing to treat them as FiBions^ yet becaufe they could not deny the account of them to have been written by eye and ear witneffes, they would not venrure to abide by this plea, bur chofe rather to afcribe them to Magick, and in op- pofition to them to magnify flories of ftrange feats done by T'ythagoras, Abaris-, Artjie' as^ Troconnejius, A^oUonius, and other im- poflors, many of which were forged long after their times to ferve this turn, as it may be juftly fuipedred, and the reft had very little colour of truth from any competent Hiftory ; and if they had been true , could lerve to no good purpofe, being very trifling

and

SERMON XIV. 443

and ridiculous. Now if they could, with any probabihcy, have denied the Miracles of our Saviour and his ApoQlcs, they would never have taken this method of anfwering them. But of this I Ihall have occafion to take far- ther notice, when I come to Ipeak of thofe fucceOlve fubfequent Evidences to the truth of Chnftianity, which more particularly af- fect the ages after its firft promulgation: wl)icli I intend, with God's afTiftance to cou' fider the next opportunity.

SERMON

SERMON XV.

Preached OBober the 6'^ 171 8.

Heb. ii. 3, 4.

How Jhall we efcape if we negleB fo great Salvation , which at the firfi began to be fpoken by the Lordy and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him,

God alfo bearing them witnefs ^ both with figns and wonders y and with divers miracles and gifts of the Holy GhoBy according to his own Will,

Have 5 in my two foregoing Dif. courfes, confider'd the nature, and poffibility of Miracles in ge- neral : How we are to diftinguifh

what

U6 SERMOK XV.

what Miracles are truly divine, and what arc! not ; and likewife upon what ground we may- be affured, that the perfon working fuch Mi- racles, in the name of God, has a divine com- mi/Iion , or is enabled to reveal the will of God : and in the laft place, I confidered, what evidence we may now have, from the Miracles anciently wrought, that the Chriftian doc^trine, contained in Scripture, is Truly a divine Re- velation, and to be always embraced as fiich. And whereas this depends upon our certainty ofthefe two things;

, - I. That iuch Miracles were really wrought: And,

^. That the Dodrine, contained in Scri- pture, is the fame which was then revealed ; I oblerved, that both thefe are contained in the fame original records of the Chriftian Re- ligion, and are infeparable from each other. And for the Truth of what thele records con- tain , we have not only as good evidence in an human way as can be Ihewn for any other Hiftorical relation of the like antiquity : But there are two Conflderations which car- ry the matter yet farther ; and which may be fuiBcient, both to anfwer the great moment of the cafe , and even to fatisfy the fcruples, or prejudices, of fuch as are not obftinately refol- ved againft it. One

SERMON XV. 447

One is, That the Records of our Religion, both as to the Miracles and Dodbrine, in re- fpedt of the Books and their Authors, have fome particular grounds of credibility, or evi- dent marks of Truth, above any other Hiftory of the like antiquity ; of which I ipoke briefly in my laft Difcourfe.

The other is, That there are divers fuccef- fivefubfequent evidences to the Truth of Chri- flianity, which more particularly afFedt the ages after its firft promulgation, and which are a kind of (landing Divine atteftation to the Truth of it, and do, in a great meafure, fupply to us the want of that immediate fenfible evi- dence of Miracles, which was peculiar to thofc who heard the firft preaching of it. And I have chofen to fpeak to this Confideration , from thefe words of the Apoftle, God alfo bearing them witnefs, both with figns and wonders^ and with divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghofi, according to his own will; be- caufe in thefe words he fets forth that general atteftation, which God was plealed to give to the Dodtrinc of Chrift, as it was delivered by thofe whom he appointed to be his witnefles, expreffed by feveral words , which may be underftood to fignify all the feveral kinds of extraordinary or divine evidence, upon which

the

448 SERMON XV.

the truth of the Golpel was firfl eftabliihcd 5 not only fuch (Ignsor wonders as were imme- diately wrought to gain attention to it , and to Ihew that its publifhers had a Commiflion from Heaven; but luch miraculous powers? or Gifts of the Spirit of God, as were of a more permanent nature; and fuch marks of Divinity as appeared in the very Dod:rine it felf, when the feveral parts of it came to be examined : which I fliall therefore now take occafion more particularly to confider, under thele two Heads.

I. Such extraordinary and Wonderflil EfFeds, as either attended, or were confequent upony the firft preaching of the Gofpel.

II. The fiicceffive accomplifliment of Pro- phefies delivered by Chrift and his Apoftles.

Which two things are (landing inftances, both of Divine Power andWifdommanifefted in the Chriftian dodrine.

I. Such extraordinary and wonderful Effeds, as either attended, or were confequent upon, the firfl: preaching of the Golpel ; which were not of a tranfient nature , but of fo long a continuance, as might give all its oppofers

tim^

Sermon xv. 449

itime and opportunity thoroughly to confider, and examine into the Ground and reafon of them : Of this kind we may reckon the flrangc and furprizing Manner, in which the GoJpel was at firft propagated into all parts, fo much above all human probability : And the mar- velous EfFeds which it had upon thofe who attended to it, whcre-ever it was propa- gated.

I. The furprizing Manner of its propagati- oin, into all parts, lo far above all human pro- bability, confidcring the indrumcnrs employ- ed in it, is a plain inftance of a Divine power attending it. That perions of fiich a mean condition, as the Apoftles were, unlearned and unexperienced in worldly policy, fliou'd (ec about fo great a work, as ti\at of perlhading all the world into the belief of a matter of fadt, fuch as the Refurrcdion of oiir Saviour was, for declaring of which at firfi: they rua the greatefl: ha2ards imaginable, is a plain evi- dence, that they thcmlelvcs were fully cpn- vinced of the Truth of it , and of the impor- tance of declaring it, as alio of the mighty confequences to be drawn from it.

That they iliould hope for fuccefs in thi^ enterprize, and therefore iliould go about ic with the greateft refolution and courage, not- Qg withftanding "

450 SERMON XV.

wichftanding both their own vveaknefs, and the mighty oppofition they were fure to meet withal, could be owing to nothing, but a full and entire perliiafion of Divine afliftance, and an inward confcioufnefs, that they were en- dued with ^owcr from on high.

But that they ihould, fo wonderfully, and above all human expedation, fucceed in this defign, and ihould perfuade men, in fuch num- bers, of al! ranks, not only to believe, but al- io to engage themfelves to maintain the be- lief of a thing, {g much againft all their pre- fent eafe and interefty was what nothing lels than the mighty Power of God could effed:.

If this device had been of men it muft of neceflity have co?iie to nought^ as " Gamaliel wifely argued ; fmce it wanted all thole ad- vantages which can give an Impofture any pro- bability of liicceeding. For whoever defigns to put a cheat upon the world, and draw dil^ ciples after him to maintain it, with any hopes of fuccels, mull either have fome Power and Authority to awe men, or great cunning and Policy to contrive matters {q as to deceive them ; or fome fpecious pretenfe of worldly Intereft, to draw them in ; or elfe his dod:riue

muft

« v^.7; V. 38.-.

SERMON XV. 451

liiufl: be fuited to the corrupt inclinations of men, in order to allure them. Without fome, or all of thcfc, hun:ianly fpeaking, no inno- vation of long fettled culloni is likely to pre- vail. But now the Apoftles had none of all thcfe advantages to recommend themfelves or their Dodlrine. They had neither force nor craft to engage men ; nor could they propofe to their followers any earthly advantage, but the quite contrary : neither did their Doctrine gratify them with the allowance of any un- reafonable fenliial fatisfadiion, but commanded them to mortify every unruly defire of that kind ; and threatned them with eternal mife^ ry, if rhey indulged themfelves in any unlaw- ful lufl: or pleafure. And yet under all thefe circumftanceSj unprovided as they were, they defigncd to root out the fettled Religion of the world, and to deftroy the wordiip of falfe Gods, which had for a long time prevailed, and been confirmed both by law and cuftom ; and inftead of fuch inveterate fuperflition to plant the Dod:rine of a Crucified Saviour, and to perfuade men to beheve in him, without the afTiftance of any human Art or Eloquence, only by a plain relation of his Life, and Death, and Refurred;ion, a thing feemingly incredi- ble to the prcjudicate opinions of ihofe who G g X valued

452 SERMON XV.

Valued rhemfelves for wifdom. Now how could rhey hope to compals fo mighty a de^ fign, if they had not known affuredly , that God would '■Ji'ork 'with them ^ and confirm their '■jvcrd? How could they, who but a lit- tle before out of fear forfook and denied their Mafter, on a fudden become (o full of cou^ rnge, after his departure from them, as to de- clare thole who crucified him to be murder- ers, and him to be railed again, and to be the Prince of Life, by whom we are to attain life Ercrn?J ; and whofe witnelTes they profcft themfelves to be, and ready to endure the greateft torments for his fake ? Though they were ignorant and unlearned men^ they could not but know, that a little before their time Judas oi Galilee and Theudas, who had at- tempted innovations, and drawn diicipies af- ter them, had foon perillied in their defigns, and their followers been brought to nought. They knew alfo the hatred and oppofition of all the leading part of the Jews againft their MaCler, when he was alive; and could not but forefee what a florm it would raile, to deckre them guilty of his innocent blood. And more- over, if what they taught had been only a cunningly devifed Fable of their own contri- vance, they had reafon to fufped: that feme

of

SERMON XV. 453

of themfclves, under fuch fevere trials, might fail off and dilcover it, and then their dcfjgn muft have been utterly ruined : And yet none of all thele very obvious confiderations could difcourage ihem, from profccuting an under- taking, which they certainly knew mull; be at- tended with bonds and im^rifonment^ and all other dangers, even death it fclf. None of thefe things moved them, nor did they value their lives, fo they might fulfil their Minifiry. Now their luccefs was anfwerable to their cou- rage and integrity ; for notwithftanding all pofTible human oppofition was made to them, yet they went on and prevailed every day, converting great numbers where-ever they came; and in a few years, they went into the mod confidcrable parts of the habitable world, and left behind them living and grow- ing evidence, that they had been there, either in perion or by faithful deputies, by the num- ber of converts which they made both among Jews and Gentiles. And yet they did not ar- rogate any of this fuccels to their own power, but only to the Grace of God which was with them, and to the evidence of thofe Miracles which he enabled them to work in the Name oiChriJi. For ^ their preaching ivas not with Gg 3 eaticiti^

*> I Cor. ii. 4.

454- SERMON XV.

entkmg iL'ords of man's wtfdom, but in demon- (iratiou of Spirit and of To^jver , that the Faith, of thofe who believed, might not fiand in the wifdom of men, but in the Tower of God; againfl: which no human power or contrivance can be able to ftand. St. Taul frequently mentions this evidence of the Power of God going along with them, in oppofiti- on to ail the power and wifdom of the world ; and faySj with a fort of triumph, ^ Where is now the wife 1 Where is the fcrihe ? Where is the difpiter of this world? Hath not God made foolijh the wifdom of this world? For God hath chofen thefoolifl? things of this world to confound the wife, and the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. Hehathmadeureofinftruments, fcem- ingly bafe and defpifed , that the mighty ef- fed:s of their Dodlrine iliould be afcribed on- ly to his Power. Though St. Tatil had a more learned education than all the reft of the Apoftles, yet he declares, for himfelf as well as the reft, We /peak not in the words which man's wifdotn teacheth. He was con- cerned only to Ihew their fincerity in mani- fcflation of the Truth ; but he freely owns, We have this treafure in earthen vefflels, that

^ I Cor. 1. ic, z-].

SERMON XV. 455

that the excellency of the Tower may be of God^ and not of us. We need not be ailiamed to confcfs, either to Jews or Gentiles, that the Apoflles were neither Great Rabbies, nor learned Philofophers, but may own that they were mean and obfcure perfbns: for though this was made an objedtion againfl their Do- <5trine, by fuch as were too much puffed up with thcfc advantages to examine ir, yet the objcd;ion, when granted, turns into a very ftrong Argument for that Doctrine which it was intended againfl. And therefore St. C/:?ry- fojiom '^ blames the inconfideratc weaknefs of a certain Chriftiap in his time, whom he had once heard difputing with an Heathen in de- fence of Sc. Taul, and contending, that he was more learned and eloquent than Tlato^ whereas his adverfary ftiffly maintained the contrary. Eachofthefe Dilputants (fays he) <lid really argue againfl. his own Caule : For it was agreed that the liicccfs of St. haul's DocStrine, and the numbers converted by it^ was much greater than that of Tlato. And therefore it could not depend upon human learning or eloquence, i^Tlatohdid ^o much the advantage in thefe accomplillimcnts : bur G g 4 muft

^ Chryfofi. Horn. 3. in i Ep. ad Corinth,

45^ SERMON XV.

niuft be attributed to a more powerful caufe,. For it caiiQOC well be denied, that fo furpriz- ing an event, as was that of the mighty fpread- ing of the Gofpel in fo Hiort a time, mud be afcribed to fornething more than human, fmce it is acknowledged, that the mofl: probable hu- man means of doing it were wanting. But befides the fpeedy Manner of propagating the Golpel, we are to confider likewife;

^. The marvelous EfFedts which it had up- on thofe who attended to it, where-ever it was propagated. It was not only entertained as a piece of news , or a matter of fpeculati- on, the thoughts of which would foonpafs a- way , and be difregarded ; but it had a deep and lafting influence, upon the lives and man- ners of thofe who entertained it. The Refor- mation which it wrought, both in the Princi- ples and Practices of fuch as were converted to it , and the great courage and ftedfaftnefs with which they perfiftedin it, notwithftanding all poffible human dilcouragements, is a ftrong argument that there was fornething rbore than human in it. I have, in a former Difcourfe % obferved, how ineffectual the Reafbnings of Philofophers were, towards the producing fiich.

a Refor-

« Serm, xi.

SERMON XV. 457

a Reformation, either in Religion or Morali- ty, as they could fee was greatly wanted. How very few were thofe whom , with all their boafted learning and eloquence, they could perfuade to abandon a vicious life, and (leddily to embrace thepradice of aflridt and fmcere virtue ? to refrain from falling in with the moft abiurd Superftition and Idolatry, wl^ich they had once been accuftomed to? or to make the conflant belief of the Soul's Immortality, a prevailing principle of Adlion ? But where-ever the Dodrine of the Gofpel obtained, what a change did it prefcntly work, both in the minds and behaviour of men ? No (boner did they become Chriftians , but they prefently fbrlbok all their former vain converfation, and became quite other, oxnew^ men ; leading lives, fb innocent and virtuous, that they challenged their enemies to objecSt any thing againft them , but their profefiing the name of Chriii, and renouncing all the idolatry of their neighbours, as they did in fpite of all oppofition. How ftedfaftly did all ranks and degrees of them, (even fuch as the Gentile Philofophers thought too mean and illiterate to converfe withal) maintain and pro- fefs the belief of another life , and a future judgment, and an eternal reward for blameleis

Souls,

458 SERMON XV.

Souls, and puniiliment for the wicked and un- godly ? With what conftancy did they defpifc all the confiderations of this world, which could be propofed to them, in comparifon of an happy Refurredion ?• And how freely would they offer themfelves to all manner of torments, and the mod cruel kinds of death, rather than do any thing which might look like denying their Saviour y or renouncing their hope in him, from whom they expedbed this reward of Immortality ? The Heathens were amazed at this, and called it ObJimacj\ and punifhed them for it. But in other re- Q)ed:s, they own'd that they had nothing cri- minal to charge them withal ; as Tl'mjy in his letter to Trajan, teflifies. This is a point which the Primitive Apologifts infill; very much upon, that no other inlliturion of Phi- lofophy or Religion could lliew {o much in- nocence and true virtue in pra(5tice. Qr'igen s not only affirms, that the Churches of Chrift

being

f Pl'in. Ep. 97. hh. X. •

»A?)(r<i*5 , 1^ o-vUqao-h (SfA7/ovaii eAc4T7»;, sro^su x.^eirlm tvy- ^«»H» T c« talc, dr.fiati c^xXr.rtait ; dfiic?\7i<rict "p. yS "S ©cK, Qi?^' HT«», Jj Aiii^v^Ti f3-g9»«05 T/5 jO <5L/V«g);j ■ I jQ'C. Vide Ork.

contra Celf. HI;. 3. pa^. 118, "o^f.

SERMON XV. 459

being compared with other Communities of men, among whom they dwelt, in refJ3ed: of their lives and manners, were as lights in the world \ but he challenges his adverlkries to ex- amine the feveral ranks and degrees, or dates and conditions of hfe, as common people. Se- nators, or chief Rulers of a Chrijlian Church, and an Heathen Community, in fuch Cities as Athens^ Corinth^ or Alexandria^ for inftance, and compare them together, and then declare, whether even the worfer fort of Chriftians, comparatively in each degree, did not far ex- cel the very beft Heathens of the like de- gree. Now this would hardly have been {o conftantly infifted upon , if the fad; had not been paft denial. ^' 'Julian himfelf, as great a bigot as he was to the Heathen fuperftition, yet fairly owns, that the fandrity of life, and exemplary charity of the Chriftians, had in- duced fo many to defpife the [Heathen] Gods, that if the Gentile Priefts ever hoped to re- ftore their ancient worlhip, they muft endea- vour to reform their own lives by their ex- ample.

Now that a few, poor, unlearned and plain men, deftitute of all probable human afljftance,

fent

^ Juliani Epiji, 49. ad Arfacium,

4.60 SERMON XV.

fent out fepararely, into feveral diftant parts of the world, fhould in a few years bring over, to the fame Faith in Chrift, and obedience to him, vafl numbers in every countrey where they came, of all ages, degrees and conditi- ons of life, of different profeflions, perfuafi- ons and Religions, notwithftanding the pre- judices of former Cuftom and Education , a- gainft all the Power, Intereft, Authority and Learning of the world, and amidft all the ma- licious contrivances of Men and Devils, con- tinually oppofing and raifing perfecution a- gainft it ; and that this Faith jhould make fo deep an impreffion upon the minds of men , as immediately to change their Principles and Practices, and in a compendious manner, to make them fhew fuch a true Philofbphy in their lives and actions, and fuch a Conftancy in adhering to it, even unto death, as the moft learned among the Heathens, after much ftudy, could do little more than talk of; Thefe are fuch effedts, as no confidering and unpre- judiced man, can eafily deny to be the work of God. Therefore it muft be concluded, ei- ther that the original of this Dodrine, and the Miracles by which it was confirmed, and by which the Apoftles were enabled to plant and propagate it, were fuch as they are in Scripture

repre-

SERMON XV. 461

rcprelbntcd to be; or clfe, that this wonder- ful effed, of which the marks are ftill fo plain and lafting, was produced in a manner, if pol- fible, yet more miraculous; that is, without any fuch means at all. Now is it not really much more probable, as well as more agree- able, to all the accounts which Hiftory gives us of thofe times, that fuch Miracles were wrought at the firfl: planting of the Gofpel, and that divers of them continued to be wrought for a confiderable time, (as we are told they did, till great numbers were every where con- vinced of the Power of the Spirit which went along with Chriftianity, and the prejudices of men againfl: it were fbmewhat abated ) than that it Ihould gain fuch a ftrong and lading; eftablifliment , as we fee in fadt it has done, contrary to all probable Human means, and yet be without fuch Divine evidence ?

I oblerved, in the clofe of my laft Difcourfc, that (bme of the ancient and bitter enemies of Chriftianity have, by their very way of writ- ing againft it, given Teftimony to the Mira- cles of our BlelTcd Saviour, in point of fadt, in afcribing them to magick , and fetring up, in competition with them , ftrange feats faid to have been done hy Pythagoras ^ Abar'is , Arifieas, or A^ollonius, and the like. Now

that

4-62 SERMON XV.

that which led them into this way of oppofmg Chriftianity was not, as I conceive, barely the relation which the Apoftles give of the Miracles of Chrift; but the notoriety of fad, that both the Apoftles themfeives, and many other Chriitians, for a confiderable time after them , did continue to work Miracles in the name of Je/lis : For Origen \ in many places, teilifies, that divers miraculous powers did continue till his time. This the mod inqui- fitive Heathens could not tell how to deny : And therefore to avoid the force of the Argu- ments which the Chriilians drew from thence, to prove that Jefus was a Divine Perlon, and his Dodrine from God, and to keep up the fmking credit of Gentile Philolbphy, upon which they valued themfeives among the peo- ple, fome of them had recourle to thefe two Methods; which yet in the end turned to the eftablilhment of the Gofpel, and the utter con- fufion of Pagan Idolatry.

I. They raked together all the old (lories, they could meet withal, of flrange things done by fome ancient Philofophers, or even Magi- cians and Impoftors, to which they add new ones of their own, and thefe they fet up in

oppo-

' Vide Orig. contra Celf. fag. 5, 34, 53, 124, 337, crc.

SERMON XV. 4^3

oppofition to the Miracles of Chrift and his Apoftles. To this purpofc Celfus ^ brings ia the ftory of Ar'tjteas from ^ Herodotus^ who tells us, he heard fuch a ftory told at Trocon- nejiis, that Artfleas died there, but that his body could not be found, dead or alive, for leven years ; bat that afterwards he appear- ed and made verfes, then dilappeared again ; and above three hundred years after was leen at Metapontiim^ where he ordered them to ere6l an Altar to Apollo, and a ftarue for himfelf clofe by it, telling them, he had once been the Crow which came with Apollo into Italy^ and after he had faid this he vanifhed again. To this Celfus adds the ftory of Abaris-, riding in the air upon an arrow of Apollo over fea and land (as Porphyry "^ alio relates it) and of Hermotimus Clazomeniusy whofe Soul often left the body, and wander- ed up and down Without it.

Thefe ftrange ftories Celfus makes a Ihew of believing ; and fo does Hierocles after him ; who for the fame purpofe highly com- mends the life of Apollon'tus Tyanaiis^ writ by Thiloftratns. Now this way of argu-

j"g

^ Orig. contra Celf. p. iij, ^c, ' Herod, lib.- iv. cap. 13, 14. «' De vttA Pythag, SeSl. 29.

4^4 SERMON XV;

ing from thefe ilories was this : " If fuch great men as thefe^ of whom fuch Jirange and 'wonderful things are related^ are not wor/hifd as Gods^ why Jhould the Chrifttans account JES^S a God, and pay htm ©/'- *vine Honour, only for having done fuch won- ders as they relate of him ? This was the fum of their Argument, fuppofing the fadts related of thefe famous men were believed to be true, as they pretended to think them. But it would have ferved their purpofe as well, if they were falfe, provided they could but thereby have reduced the Miracles of Jefus to the fame level with thefe impoflures. And I make no queftion but it was with this view, that Thilojtratus writ the life of Afot- lo7iius\ which he did, fo many years after his death, that he might fay what he pleafed of him. And with the like defign both Tor- ■pjjyry and Jamblkhus ma)} be juftly fuppo- fed to have writ the life of Tythagoras, fo

full

n Of this fee Origen againji <Zt\{MS in the third book at large ; and the follozvlng words of Hicrocles, in his book againfi the Chrijlians , as the'j are preferved by Eufebius in his dnfxver y are to the fama purpofe, TIy<^ *v V »f «* t»twv lyL^S-lw ; nA

©£0» <x.».» 0£o7« Kix<^efi'^M.'fyoii rtnJ^^ r.yifAtSx ' ct 3 ^V oXiyeti rt- e5t7«*? Tfva? T Ur-ii <Bi),i iiyxf>(</Jt/<r(. Vidt Eufeh. ContrA Hi- erochm. ra!>, z.

, SERMON XV. 46S

full of ftrangc and abfurd ftories , that one could hardly think it pofTible for men of fenle to tell them, with fo grave and ferious an air, as they do; unlefs it were to ferve fo malicious a purpofc. ;

Now what fay the Chriftian Apologills to all this ? ° Why f.rft they deny, that there was any competent evidence to prove thofe ftrange pretended fad:s ; as there was for the Miracles of Chrift and his Apoflles, which were atteflcd at the time they were done, by iuch witneffes as, with the utmoft con* ftancy even unto death, affirmed them upon their own knowledge. And then in the next pUce, fuppofing Ibme of them to have beea true, they were very abfurd and ridiculous ; and ; if there was any thing more than the jugglings of crafty men in them, it was fit to be afcribed only to lying and wicked Spirits. Befides, they tended to no manner of good purpofe, fuch as reforming the minds and man- ners of men, or reclaiming them from their Idolatry, to a more rational worfhip of the Supreme God, but the quite contrary. Nor did they ptreterid to be defigned for any fuch Hh good

o of this fee Origen'f 3'^ Book agij'mfl Celfus, avd Eufe- i>i«s agalnjl Hierocles.

4.66 SERMON XV.

good ufe by the Providence of God ; nor were any of their Authors foretold by an- cient Prophets, as Jefis, and the defign of his coming into the worldj was long before he came : Neither laftly, had they any fuch ef- fe6t as followed from the Miracles and Do- ctrine of Je/i/s, by which fuch vaft numbers in all places were brought to. embrace a new and holy inftitution, and to adhere to it, for- faking their former wicked and iiiperftitious cuftoms, notwithftanding all human oppofi- tion made to the contrary, p For thefe rea- fons, and alfo becaufe they faw fome vifible powers exercifed in the Name of Jeftis, they juftly thought his dodirine to be the doctrine of God, and his miracles Divine works ; but the others to be delufion. But then,

z. That the oppofers of Chriftianity might feem to have Ibmething among them, like

that

-are* V 'liju-S SniyufieBx, « t^\ Tv^Si?-ctv <pip^fM/j ^Aoy/«v /z^ §' TCW7* ycyoiivcu, tv r ©eov li;<?iiXvc^ o-v^-r.a-ca r D^ 'Uo-i sJ;

K; K^ ry; t^yji ^gj'ni^?, ci oic, yx. oX'iycM (le^Tre^M to? Urii oyef<.ec]if (ontra Celf. HI;. 3. fag. 127.

SERMON XV. 4^7

that power of the Spirit of God, whereof they faw fome vifible efPedls among believer!^. Many of the Philofophers thcmfelvcs of chat time, and fome of Julian^ great friends and acquaintance afterwards, betook themfclveS to the mod Diaboh'calSuperftition, Charming, Necromancy, Invocation of Daemons -, pre- tending to Divinations, Ecftafies, Infpirations^ Nodturnal Vifions and frequent converfings with their Gods and departed Heroes. Thefe wicked and Enthufiaftical practices they cal- led Theurgical^ as if there had been fbme- thing Divine in them. And by this method they hoped to keep the old Gentile Idolatry in Ibme credit; as whoever will take the pains to read and confider the lives of thofe Philofophers, written by E mi aj4 us their grezt admirer, will eafily (ee. But this pretence to fomething Supernatural, though it might for Jl time impofe upon the ignorant and iiiperfti- tious part of the Gentiles, could not bear up againft the light of the Goipel. Nor could fuch works of the Devil endure the fight of the meaneft Chriftian alive ; nay, they coriiplain- ed, that the very Bodies of fome of them, when dead, hindred all the Influence of their Gods from Ihewing itfelf. However both thefe Methods of oppofmgChriftianity plain -

Hh X iy

468 SERMON XV.

ly iliew, that the fads upon which it was founded were undeniable ; and that they had nothing better to fay againft them, when they took iiich courfes to defend their own Superfiition, as the more ancient Philofbphers of reputation (fuch as Anaxagoras^ Socrates^ 'Plato y Xenophon or Artftotle) would have been ailiamed of

Thus the wonderful manner in which Chri- ftianity was fo fpeedily propagated, and the efFeds which for a long time followed it, are a (landing argument of its truth and divinity, and give a more than Human teftimony to the; Revelation contained in holy Scripture.

If it fliould be alledged, that the great pro- grels and large extent of Mahometanifm is an objedlion to this way of arguing, fince we do not allow that to have any thing divine in it : The anfwer, I think, is very obvious. That it is not the extent of worldly domi- nion, or the mere number of outward pro- feffors, upon which we lay the ftrefs of this argument, but that inward converfion of the minds of men, which attended the Chriftiari Dodtrine, not only without, but contrary to, all human Power and Policy. Mahomet did not pretend to prove his dodlrine by miracles, nor to reform the lives of men by it, but

to

SERMON XV. 469

to form a worldly dominion upon the corrup- tions both of Judaifm and Chriftianity : out of which he framed a dodrine to draw in both ; of which he did not offer to convince men otherwifc, than by worldly motives and the power of the fword. And 'tis no won- der that nominal Chriftians, and others, who had no real inward Religion, fliould come a- pace into fuch a dod:rine as gratified their lufts, when it h4d once gotten an eflablilhment. But did ever any of Mahomefs Difciples make fuch numbers of Converts out of the bounds of their own dominions, or where they and their profeffion were continually perfecuted? So that if we confider the dif- ferent manner and means of propagating Chri- ftianity, and the doctrine of Mahomet.^ it will plainly lliew their different original. And as to the intrinftck excellence of the feveral do- ctrines, they will bear no comparifon.

I iliall now briefly add the fecond thing which I propofed in the beginning of this difcourfe; namely,

II. The fucceffive accomplifliment of Pro- phefies delivered by Chrifl and his Apoftles.

I Ihall not here mention the prophefies of Hh 3 the

470 SERMON XV.

the Old Teftamenr, relating to the Perfon of- the MeJJJas, and the time in which he lived upon Earth, and which were remarkably ful- filled in their leafon ; becaufe, though this be a good argument for the truth of the Chri- flian Religion, and has accordingly been in- filled upon by divers good Authors, yet it does not fo properly come under the point which I am now upon. My defign is only to mention fome of rhofeprcdidions. which had their completion afterwards, and which are a fort of lafting miracle to fucceeding ages, and a monument of Divine Power and Wifdom manifefling itfelf in the Gofpel. For it muft be own'd, that the certain foretelling of fu- ture contingent events, Specially at a great diftance, and fuch as have no antecedent pro- bality, is an inftance of Divine Wifdom. And in this fenfe, the Teftimony of Jefus is the Spirit of Trophecj. I iliall inftance in fuch as thefe which follow.

I. He told his Difciples what ihould befal them after his Afcenfion into Heaven, as. That they fliould be endued with power from on high, after that the Holy Ghoft was come upon them; That they iliould work great Miracles in his Name, fuch as healing the Ack, cafting^ut Devils, and Ipeaking with

new

SERMON XV. 471

new Tongues ; That they fhould be brought before Kings and Rulers for his Name's fake ; that they Ihould be dehvercd up to be affli- d:ed, and perfecuted, and put to death, and ihould be hated of men for his fake ; and yet notwithftanding all this oppofition and ill treatment, which they were to meet with, he likewife foretold them what progrefs they fhould make, and that they fliould be witnefc fes unro him, not only iwjudaa and Samaria, but even to the uttermoft parts of the earth ; and that for this purpofe he would give them a mouth sfhd wifdom, which all their adver- laries fliould not be able to gainfay or refift. Now whoever reads the A^s of the Apoftles, and other genuine Remains of Antiquity, will find all thefe things eminently fulfilled.

1. The Deftrudion oijerufalem was very particularly foretold by our Saviour, with a- bundance of very remarkable circumftances which were to attend it ; as to the time, that it iliould be before that generation was all dead, but yet not till the Gofpel was firft publilhed into all parts of the world ; as to the figns foregoing it, that there fliould be wars and rumours of wars, earthquakes, fa- mines and peftilences, that there Ihould alio arife falfe Chrift's and falfe Prophets, who Hh 4 * iliould

472 SERMON XV.

ihould deceive many ; that there iliould be fearful fights and great figns in the Heavens attending it; and by particular marks' and tokens of approaching vengeance , his true Difciples had warning given, by flight, to efcape that dreadful calamity. As to thcDe- ftrudion itfelf, he foretold that it ihould be the mod terrible and amazing of all that ever befel any City, or People, inlbmuch that of their famous Temple, which had been fo long in building, there ihould not be left one (tone upon another, which iliould not be thrown down. The circumitances of this Prophecy are fo particular, and the fulfilling all of them fo remarkable, th.at whoever reads the Hiftory of this great calamity, in Jofephus, and compares it with our Saviour's Predicflion, in the Evangelifls, cannot fail' of acknowledging the jud: vengeance of God upon that obftin^te generation, for rejeding and crucifying their Meffias^ and mull at the fame time own it for a fignal evidence of that Divine Spirit by which he fpake, and of the truth of his dodrine.

3. The difperfion of that people after the xuine of their City and Government, was like- wife plainly foretold, {Luke xi. 24.) There jhall be great dijirefs in the land, and wrath

upon

SERMON XV. 473

ufon this feofle. And they fl? all fall by the ^^ae of the fword^ and fh all be led captive into all nations. And Jerufalem jhall be trod- den down of the Gentiles^ until the time of the Gentile be fulfilled. Now the (tare of the Jews is, to this day, a (landing evidence of the Truth of this Prophecy, they being by the Providence of God kept a diftindt people, from all thofe among whom they are difper-. fed, which cannot be laid of any other anci- ent nation ; and yet they have been often op- prefTed and perfecuted, hated and defpifed where-ever they came ; but not yet fuffered to return to their own land, to let up their ancient worfhip in it, though they have feve- ral times attempted it. "" Julian himfelf (per- haps out of fpite to this Prophecy , or at lead out of hatred to the Chriftians) promifed them in a letter, to reftore their Holy City and Worlhip : And we are told, that he lent Alypius with a commillion to lee this defign executed, and to lay out a prodigious fum up- on rebuilding the Temple, ^ but that, when

he

^ vide Jidiant. Ep. 25. Ed, Spanheim.

^ Ciim itaque rei idem fortiter inftaret Alypius, juvaret- que provinciae rcdor, metuendi globi flammarum prope fun- damenta crebris affultibus erumpentes, fecere locum, exu- ftis aliquoties operantibus, inacceflBm : hocque modo, cle-

mento

474 SERMON XV.

he fet about the work in earnejiy terrible balls of fire broke out about the foundation , which fever al times deftroyed the workmen, cmd made the place inaccejjlble , fo that the defign was forced to be entirely laid ajide. This account we have not only from Chri- fcian Writers , and enemies of Julian , but from Ammiantis Marcelliniu, one of his great admirers. Jerufdlem flill continues trodden down of the Gentiles \ that fs, in fubjedtion and bondage to fuch as are not Jews by pro- felTion or extradion : and fo it is likely to continue, till the time of the Gentiles be ful- filled, ox till theGofpel has had its full courfe among them. And thus, as the Gofpel was firft pubhflied among all nations before this wonderful difperfion of the Jews , as it were for a Teftimony againfi them where-ever they fliould be fcattered ; ^o they were foon fent after it , to be a continual and living monu- ment of the Truth of it, among all people where they dwell.

4. The progrefs of Chriftianity , and the (late of the Chriftian Church , was hkewife foretold, both by our Saviour in divers of his parables, and in other exprefs declarations,

and

mento deftinatius repellente, ctiravit inceptum. vide Am- miani Marcell. lib. 23. cap. i.

SERMON XV. 475

and likevvife farther by his Apoftles in their writings ; as, That it fliould be every where perfecuted at firfl, and yet ihould every where prevail , and from fmall beginnings , hke a grain of muftard feed, iliould grow into a great Tree -. That the Gentiles ihould be called in- to ir, and the Jews for a time rejed it : That in the latter days there fhould be grievous Corruptions in the Church, in many particu- lar inftances, which have already been fadly verified.

Now though it Ihould be owned, that fome of the things foretold were not unlikely to happen, as that the Apoflles ihould be perfe- cuted, and that the Golpel ihould meet with great oppofition, confidering how Chrift him- ielf was treated, and how contrary his doctrine was to the corruptions of men ; yet all of them were things contingent ; and the Apo- flles might not thus have expoled themfelves, if the thing had been of men. But their fuc- cefs was fo unlikely, and fb were moft of the other things foretold, that as nothing but Di- vine wifdom could forefee them, fo nothing but Divine power could bring them to pais.

As for thofe Prophecies concerning a bet- ter State of the Chriftian Church, the fulnefs of the Gentiles coming in to the profefJioa

of

4.16 SERMON XV.

of the Gofpcl, the converfion of the Jews, the dcftrucStion oi Antkhrtft ^ the prevailing power of the Gofpel, aud others, whofe time of accompliihmeot is yet future; though we cannot at prel'ent make ufe of them as argu- ments againll Unbehevers; yet as thofe who beh'eve the Scriptures juftly exped: that thefe t>rophecies will ail be fulfilled , in their fea- fon? {o when the time of their fulfilling comes, they will be a fucceffively growing evidence of the Truth and Divinity of the Chriftian Dodrine, fuch as no impoflure can fliew.

And now from what I have faid upon this Subject, I hope, it will appear, that, over and above a more certain Hiflorical evidence of fads related in the New Teftament, than can be expeded for any mere human record fo ancient, we have alfo fubfequent inftances of Divine Power, giving atteftation to the- Chriftian Revelation, and inftances of Divine Wiidom and Fore-knowledge ,. appearing in that Revelation it felf , and manifefted to be fuch by their accomplilhment. And if this be not fuch a powerful means of convidion, as they had who faw the Miracles of our Savi- our, and heard his Dodrine, who were wit- neffes of his death , and converfed with him after he rofe from the dead , who beheld his

Afcen-

SERMON XV. 477

Afcenfion into Heaven, and were rhemfelves made partakers of the miraculous Powers of the Holy Ghoft, by virtue whereof they plant- ed this Dodrine in the world ; yet at lead it is fuch an evidence of the Truth of what they affirmed, as is impolilble to be counterfeited ; but the moire it is examined , the (tronoer it will appear. And therefore we are inexculable if we refuie to embrace a Doctrine of fuch infi- nite moment, and which comes to us Co di- vinely recommended.

How Jhall we efcape if we negle6ffi great Salvation, which at the fir ft began to be ffoken by the Lord himfelf, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him : God alfi) bearing them witnefs both with figns and wonders, and with divers Miracles, and Gifts of the Holy Ghoft, according to his own Will.

SERMON

SERMON XVI.

Preached November the 3^^ 17 18.

St. Luke vii. 23.

And Blejfed is he^ whofoever Jhall not he offended in Me,

Hefe words are the Conclufion of that Ahfwer which our Saviour re- turned to the MefTage oijohn the Baptift^ who lent two of his Dif^ ciples to him with this Qtieftion, Art thou he that Jhotild come ^ or look 12; e for another! It appears evident, from other pafTages in the Gofpel, that John himfelf did not want an anfwer to this Queftion, for his own fatis-

fadlion ;

48o SERMON XVI.

fadiion ; for he knew already that Jefus wa§ the Chrift', and his Difciples own, ' that he bare witnefs to him. But they, it feems, were unwilling to believe this, and were of- fended, that the fame o^ Jefus iliould thus eclipfe that of theiJ- Mafter ; though this was no more than what he had foretold, when he faid of JefuS'i ^ He muft increafe^ but I muft decreaje. And therefore to cure them of this prejudice, John fends them to Jejus himieli^ for their farther convicn:ion. Our Saviour knowing the occafion of their coming, did, in the fame hour^ as the Evangelifl tells us, cure many of their infirmities and plagues^ and of evil Spirits , and to many that were blind he gave fight. And then he lent them away , not with a diredt anfwer in words to their queftion, for that would have been only his own witnefs to himfelf, but with a Mef fage which implied more than a direcSt anfwer, namely, an evident proof from his Miracles, that he was the perfon they enquired about. Goy and tell John what things ye have feen and heardy how that the blind feej the lame walky the lepers are cleanfed, the deaf hear, the dead are raifed, to the poor the Gojpel is preached. He knew that by this Meflage

John

* 'iahn ili. x6. ^ ^ohn iii. 30.

SERMON XVI. 481

John the Baptift y who himfelf did no Mira- cles 9 might have a fair opportunity to con- vince them, even out of the ancient Prophets^ that thefe miraculous works were the marks of him that JJwud come, and that they need- ed not look for another. However, in con- clufion, he adds, Bleffed is he whbfoever Jhall not be offended in me : Which words may fcem to imply a tacit reproof to them y for their former unreafonable prejudice againft him, and a caution to beware of the Hke for the future. Or if we take the words as a ge- neral propofition, exprefTmg the happinefs of thofe who are fo honed and impartial, in the fearch of Truth, as to lay afide all prejud ices,- and to overcome all temptations which might hinder the fmcere embracing of ix^ they plain- ly intimate that, notwithflanding all the evi- dence of Miracles which our Saviour gave of his being lent from God, yet there would be fomc, either fb perverfe, as obftinately to rc- fifthis Dod:rine out of worldly prejudice, or fo weak , as in time of temptation to be of- fended at it, and fall away from the profefTt- on of it.

I have, in a former Difcourfe % endeavour- ed to ihew the reafonablenefs of expeding

I i lome

» Strm. XI.

482 SERMON XVI.

fome Revelation from God, confidering the general State and Condition of mankind. And "^ I havelikewife confidered the nature of that evidence which we have from Miracles, that the Chriftian Religion is founded upon fuch a Revelation. In doing of which, I hope, I have alfo prevented all objedions againfl the truth of the fa(Sbs upon which it is founded , by fhewing, that we have fufficient grounds of aflurance for them, notwithftanding they were done fo long before our time. And ad- mitting the fadts, or miracles, to be true, I have fliewn that there can be no juft pretenfe for refufing to fubmit to their evidence ; un- lefs it can be proved, that there is fomething in the Dodlrine or Revelation, thus attefted , which makes it uncapablc of any proof; that is, fomething plainly unworthy of God, and repugnant to his Nature and known Attri- butes, fo that the Do<5lrine and the Teftimony would contradict one another: From which imputation I have all along fuppofed the Chri- ftian Dodlrine, delivered in Scripture, to be free; and fliall now endeavour, briefly to fhew the reafonablenefs of fuch a Suppofition, by taking occaficn, from thele words of our

Saviour,

^ Serm. xiv. and^ xv.

SERMON XVI. 483

Saviour, to confider fome of thofe prejudices or grounds of offence, which fome men take at the Chriftian Revelation , cither upon ac- count of the Perfon or Dodrine of its Author, and from which they would feem to perfuade theralelvcs, that it is fuch a dilpenlation or mftitution, as is not fufficiently fuitable to Divine wildom ; and therefore that they may be excufed if they negledt or difregard it.

But before I proceed to the particulars, I cannot well avoid taking notice of one gene- ral Obfervation, which may very properly be made upon much the greatefi: part of the ob- jedions againfl: the Chriftian Revelation : which is this ; That they very much referable thofe objections, which Atheiftical men make a- gainft a Providence of God, Making and Go- verning the Natural world, from fome fuppofs'd defeds and blemillies in the frame and order of it. Forasthefe men vainly imagine, that if they had had the management of all things, they would have made the world after another fa- fhion, and have prevented abundance of faults and inconveniences, which they now pretend to efpy in it; io the others fancy, that if they had been to frame an Inftitution of Religion for mankind, it Ihould have been liable to none of thele objections, but Ihould, without

I i 2, any

484- SERMON XVI.

any difficulty, have been approved by the rea^ ibn of all men. But now, as in the one cafe, thofe, who have ftudied the great volume of Nature with mod exadnefs, and gone fartheft into the reafons and dependencies of one thing upon another, have found out many things t0 be great Beauties in the whole, and of excel- lent ufe ; and therefore admire the deep wif- dom and contrivance of their Author, in thofe very things, which others, lels curious, have taken for Deformities, becaufe of their own ignorance of thofe admirable purpofes to which they are defigned : So in the other cafe, thole who have ftudied the books of Holy Scri- pture with the greatefl: care , and confidered the Chriftian Oeconomy, in all its parts, with the utmofl diligence, have alway moft admired both the Divine Wifdom and Goodnefs which is difcoverable, in many of thole inftances, which others, not confidering the relation be- tween God and Man, nor viewing the corre- fpondence which one part of the Divine Dif- penfation has to another, make to be objedi- ons againft them. Some of thefe I lliall now proceed to mention ;

I. As to the Perlbn thus declaring the will of God to man ; his mean and low condition in the world, his fuffering ftate, and efpecial-

SERMON XVI. 4.85

ly his ignominious death, has been fbmetimcs urged as a great objection : and it was matter of great offence at firft both to Jews and Gentiles. But confidering the defign upon which he came into the world, this is a very unrea- fonable prejudice ; and proceeds purely from too great a value for the outward things of this world, and too little concern, and too low an opinion of a Future ftate ; to redlify which miftaken notions of things, was one great end of his coming. If the Jews would have confulted their own Scriptures imparti- ally, they might have known, that many of their own Prophets and holy men, whom they acknowledged to have been Meflengers of God, were men of fuffering, and gricvoufly perfecuted, fometimes even unto death ; and farther they might have known, from thofe very Prophets who foretold his coming, that he was to be a man of for rows, and acquaint- ed with grief and that his foul, or life, was to be made an offering for fin. This therefore ought not to have offended them. The Gen- tiles alfo might have learned , from fome of their mod efteemcd Philofophers, That out- ward pomp and greatnels , power and riches of the world , are rather to be defpifed than admired, by a truly great and wife man ; That

113 no

48^ SERMON XVI.

no good man is the lefs beloved of God, for being placed in a ftate of poverty and con- tempt, as Ep^ctus^ and other excellent per- Ibns were ; or for being hated and put to death , by his Fellow-citizens , as Socrates , one of the brighteft inllances of Heathen vir- tue, was; That the moft eminent examples of virtue, and fuch as were fitted to teach and reform the world, had been fuch as were tried in the furnace of affliction ; That mifery and fufTering, is fb far from being inconfiftent with the greared Virtue and Goodnels, that accord- ing to Tlato's reafoning (in the perfon of Glauco ^J to make the character of a truly Righteous man unqueftionably perfecft, hemuft be Jiript of all things in the worlds even of the credit andrepitation of being a Righteous

man\

^ Tov SiKMot 'iSMj^ -uS Xoyu), cL^lqy. «,vXhi >^ ^vodov, ««?' ai*^»h\dli(:iTi^i. Plato, de Repub. lili.Z, pag.i6l.

SERMON XVI. 4.87

man ; b'ecaufe if he be thought a jujt ^erfon, by the isjorld^ Honour and worldly advan- tage will be his portion, and then it cannot be known, whether it be real virtue, or the advantages of it, which he purfues\ he mufi therefore be reckoned wicked and tmjuft , while he retains the firi6teH jnflice and in- tegrity unjhaken , even unto death and

then the confequence of this will be, (even in the opinion of thofe who follow only the ap- pearances of virtue or juftice) that fuch ajusl man will be cxpofed to all manner offujfer- ing and ill-treatment, and at laB be put to a cruel death , or crucified. Now if this be the utmoft pitch of real virtue, and not pre- tended, then certainly the fuffering ftate of our Saviour, ought not in Reafon to be an offence , to thofe who confider him as a per- fbn coming to give the moft perfed: example of the moft difficult virtues : And efpecially one who comes to teach men to expe(5t another life after this, in comparifon of which all the fuff^erings of this world would vaniih, and be as nothing. For could any ftate of life be more proper to teach men this, than that which he voluntarily took upon him ? Or could he more efTedtually recommend humility, patience, contempt of the world, and obedience to the

I i 4 will

488 SERMON XVI.

will of God, even unto death, any other W4y than this ? If fuffering unjuftiy was that which brought the greateft Glory to the Cha- radbers of divers eminent perfons, even in the Pagan world , it ought not by them to have been thought unworthy of God, to make the Captain of oar Salvation perfect through fuf- feru/gs.

1. It has likewife been alledged, as a pre- judice againft him, that he lliould promife e- ternal life to his followers, who was not able to refcue himfelf from temporal death. But this prejudice fuppofes him not to have died upon choice but neceiTity, as it is fuppofed that none of thofe great men of former times, who are celebrated for being willing to fuffer death, rather than ftain their charad:er of vir- tue, would have chofen this part, if both their hfe and their character could have been pre- ferved together : and therefore if he had not power enough to do both thefe, why fliould we^ fay they, believe him able to make good fuch a promife, as none of thofe great men ox Philofophers ever offered to make ? This ob- jedion, I fay, fuppofes, that he had not power both to lay down his own I'tfe^ and to take it again^ as he declares he had. And that he really had this power ^ he gave this plain de-

monftration

SERMON XVI. 485

pionftration in fad:, that he rofe again from the dead Now could any inftance pofTible be given more proper to convince men, that he had power to raife others, and make good his promife of giving them eternal life, than this raifing of himfelf from death ? This is an evidence which needs no long dedudlions of reafoning to make it good ; but is plain to every capacity that owns his Refurredlion ; of which we have fuch afTurance from a fuf- ficient number of competent witnefTes, as makes it impoffible for any reafonabie man to deny it. If his voluntary fuffering of death therefore, befides the other great ends of it, carries his example as far as poflible, his Re- furredion fecures us of the Truth of all his Promifes. But,

3. That he fliould likewile be declared to be the Son of God, who thus fuffered and di- ed for mankind, is what fomc are yet more of- fended at. So great a Condefcenfion in God Almighty, feems to them unbecoming the Divine Majcfty , and is therefore incredible. As in one cafe they objcdt againft the ftate of his Humiliation, fo here they objed: againll the Dignity jof his Perfon. This prejudice a- rifes from hence, that the goodnefs of God in this dilpenfatjon, and his love to mankind

is

490 SERMON XVI.

is fo far above their conception. And yet thefc very men would Ibmetimes perliiade us to have ftich an unreafonable opinion of the Di-. vine goodnefs, as quite to deftroy all notions of his Juftice. They would rather fuppofe him never capable of being difpleafed with the greateft wickednefs of mankind, than to be reconciled upon fuch terms, as are fo much a- bove their comprehenfion. But now certain- ly, though no human underftanding was able to find out fuch a method of reconciling thefe Attributes of God to each other , yet being made known to us by God himfelf , it muft needs appear, to all reafonable and unpreju- diced perfons, a method of infinite Wifdom, thus to provide an Expiation for the fins of men, in a way fatisfa6tory to his infinite Juftice, afierting the Honour of his laws, and declaring his perfed: hatred of all fin , and yet at the fame time confiftent with an infinite Goodnefs and Compafiion to finful men.

This gives us a full afi^urance of the mercy of God, upon Our true Repentance, and a juft ground of hope, that our fins are forgiven, through the merits of Chrift. Which full af- furance we could not have had, upon fuch fufficient grounds, without a plain Revelation

from

SERMON XVI. 491

from God ; becaufc, though men Ihould na- turally have the higheft thoughts of the Di- vine Goodnefs, yet confidcring how much e- vcry thinking man mud needs be confcious to himfelf of his own unworchinels of fuch goodnefs, by reafon of his manifold tranlgref- fions of the Law of Nature, he could never otherwife be free from great doubting and un- certainty about it. And much lels could he entertain any certain hope of an Eternal Re- ward from a Being fo juftly offended at him. It feems indeed to have been a general no- tion of mankind, That God would admit of fome fort of expiation for Sin, which occa- fioned fo univerfal a pradtice of lacrificing ; but that any facrifice which man could offer fliould be a valuable confideration for this purpofe, cannot eafily be conceived. But when we are once affured that God has pro- vided himfelf liich an all-fufficient facrifice, we can then fee a reafon why he fuffered fuch an univerfal opinion to prevail. And wc can farther argue, with St. Taul^ ^ He that /pared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all ; how jhall he not with him alfo freely give us all things ? And though

this — ■ — ^— _— ^— ^_— ^— ^^-^^—

f S^otn. 9. 32.

4-92 SERMON XVI.

this method of Redemption argues an infinite condefcenfion, in Almighty God to his Crea- tures, which of right they could neither claim nor exped:, yet this ought not to offend us : for fince he intimately takes care of every part pf his Creation, we ought not to think any rational creature below his notice; nor are we to imagine, that his ways of caring for them are only like ours. It is unreafon- able to meafure his infinite goodnefs by our ihailow conceptions of it. We ought rather to admire the deep wifdom of it, and to own, with the Apoftle, that §/V is a faithful fay- ing and worthy of all acceptation , that Chrift Jefus came into the world to fave finners,

4. It is objected, that we cannot compre- hend the manner, in which the Divine and Humane Nature are united in the perlbu of our Redeemer. But certainly this ought no more to be a prejudice againft the belief of it, when it is revealed to us, and that Reve- lation well attefted by God, than the union of Soul and Body in our felves, though we know not the manner of it, can hinder us from being fully convinced of the thing by

its " ' ■ ■ ■ Ill I »j 1 1 1 u \

S I Tm. I. 15.

SERMON XVI. 493

its cfTedts. And that this partaking of the Divine and Human Nature renders him a pro- per Mediator and Interceffor, with God for man, cannot reafonably admit of any dif- pute.

5-, The time of our Saviour's coming into the world is fometimes objed:ed againft, as if it had been too long delayed, liippofing it e- ver to have been neccffary, or even fo high- ly beneficial to mankind as is pretended. But this objcdtion cannot be made by any one, who does not pretend to be as competent .1 judge of the fitnefs of the time, as God Al- mighty. And it has been by fome obferved to be much h'ke the Atheifts objedion againfl God's making of the world, That if he had made it at all, he would furely have made it fboner. And yet by the very nature of the thing, if it ever was created, that is, ever had a beginning, there mud have been a time when it was jufl: fo near that beginning, or was jufl: of the fame age, as it is now luppo- fed to be. So that this objection is either of no force at all, or the world mufl: never have been created, that is, it mufl: have been from Eternity ; againfl which there are yet greater objections. And therefore it is much more reafonable to fuppofe, that he who made it

knew

494 SERMON XVI.

kne\S/ the fitted time. So he who fent his Son into the vvorJd, for the falvation of man- kind, and to reveal his will by him, beft knew the proper time to fend him. Not that men were utterly deftitute of the mercy of God, or of all means of falvation, who lived before his coming in the fleili, as the objedlion muft luppofe, if it have any force in it ; for the promife of falvation, by him, is near upon as old as the firft tranigreflion ; and the efledls of his propitiation have relpcd: to times pad, as well as future. And fmce, by the Divine Difpenfation, he was to appear once for all, we may, without contradicting any principle of Reafon, fuppofe the time, in which he did appear, to have been the fitted. But this is not all that may be faid to induce us to ap- prove of it. For we may alfo difcover Se- veral indanccs of fuch fitnels, (though we cannot pretend to know them all) which make that time, in which he did come, ap- pear to have been very proper : as for in- ftauce, Thar it was when men dood in the greated need of fuch a Revelation as he came to make, being, by degrees, lunk into the ut- mod corruption both of Religion and Mo- rality ; When divers other means of reform- ing them had quite lod their efFedt ; When

Philo-

SERMON XVI. 495

Philofophy, upon mere principles of Reafon, had in vain artempted to reclaim themj and confefs'd itfelf unable to do it without farther inftrudtion and afliftance from Heaven ; When the world had been prepared by ancient Pro- phets, for a long time, to expedl his coming ; And when the outward ftate of the world was fuch, as to make his coming the mofl be- neficial, the Providence of God having gra- dually dilpofed all things for it, ib that his docStrine might have the bed opportunity both of being known and examined , that men might not be faid to be lurprized into it. Thefe and divers other inftances of the ficnefs of that feafon, in which he appeared, have been more largely treated of by thofe who difcourle concerning the fulnefs of Time in which God fent his Son into the worlds and therefore I do but jufl mention them.

6. Not much unlike, to this objecStion of time, is that of the place, or people, among which he appeared. ^' Celfus thought it a ri- diculous thing to imagine. That God ihould fend his Son among the Jews^ an obfcure and defpifed people ; he ought not, in his o- pinion, to have confined him to fuch a fmall

corner

^ vide Orig. centra Celf. ^ag, 329.

496 SERMON XVI.

corner of the world, but to have infpired more like him, and have lent them into all parts of the world. And the hke objed:ion is flill urged by Ibme againft the Chriftian Revela- tion, or indeed againft the neeeflity of be- lieving any Revelation at all to be ufeful. If it was either neceflary or intended for any great good to men, it ought, they fay, to have been univerfal. And this want of uni- verlality they think to be a fufficient reafon for rejecting it. But now, if the foundation of this objecSlion, or prejudice, againft the Chriftian Revelation were good, it would prove farther than thefe men pretend ; for^ as has been obferved by others, ' it would

prove

* Dr. Clarke of the Evidences of Natural and Revealed Re- ligion, p.ii6. Njzu, fays he, (not to take notice here, that it is by no means impojfible, but alt men may be capable of re- ceiving fome benefit from a Revelation, which yet n great part of them may never have heard of;) If thefe mens reafoning 7vct6 true, it would follow, by the fame argument, that nei- ther was Natural Religion neceffary to enable men to anfwer the ends of their creation. Tor, though all the truths of Na- tural Religion are indeed certainly difcoverable by the due ufe oj right reafon alone; yet 'tts evident, AH Men are not endued •with the fame Vacuities and Capacities, nor have they all e- qually afforded to them the fame means of making that difco - very ; as thefe Gentlemen themfelves upon fome occafions are willing enough to own, tvhen they are defcribing the barbarofH Ignorance of fome poor Indian Nations. And confeciuently the

knowledge

SERMON XVL 497

prove againfl: all the obligations of Natural Religion, which it is certain all men have not equal means or abilities of knowing and cul- tivating. And the fame way of arguing would prove, that God ought to have made^ not only all nations of men, but even all particular men, equal in all other refpeitsjj both of faculties and opportunities of im- provement, that they might all be capable of equal degrees of happinels. But as God was under no obligation to make all his Crea- tures of one rank; fo neither \yas he obliged to make all men of the fame condition ; nor to give them all the fame kind or degree of happinefs; nor confequently to afford the fame means of knowledge to all equally. Re- velation is an adt of favour, which, though fuch as were well difpofed to receive it, and were fenfible of the want of it, had good grounds to hope for, yet it could not of right be demanded : that is, God was liot obliged

K k to

knowledge of Natural Religion being in faSl by no means uni- verfal ; it zvill follozv, that there is no great necefftty even of That; but that fnenma') do very weH without it, in ■performing the funilions of the animal Life, and direiling themfelver zuholly by the inclinations of fenfe. And thus theft Gentle- men mufl at lafl be forced to let go all Moral Obligations y and fo recur unavoidably to abfolatt Atheifm.

498 SERMON XVI.

to make it equally to all men. God has in- deed been fo far good ro all men, as to give them fome meaqs of knowing him, andfi)y that has laid them under an obligation of feek- ing after him, and likewife (as I have former- ly ^ Ihewn) of inquiring, whether he has made any farther particular Revelation of his will, and of being ready to embrace it upon good evidence. And if they do this fmcerely, they will either find where that Revela- tion is, or not be condemned for the want of it, where they have no pofTible means of finding it. But, by the way, thofe who make this objedtion, cannot be of the num- ber of thole who want thefe means ; be- caufe they muft have heard of the Reve- lation, before they could take this offence at it ; and therefore may be juftly con- demned for ungratefully rejedling fuch a gra- cious ofFer, upon fo weak a pretence. For is it not unreafonable to delpife a favour of- fered to our felves, only becaufe we know not the reafon why it has not yet been offered to fome others ? Though it may in time be of- fered to all that are found worthy of it. And then as to the Place where the Gof-

pe!

^ Senn. x. and-x.\\.

SERMON XVL 4.99

pel firft began do be preached ; if it be allowed rearonable, that the Author of it Ihould be a real Man, his Birth and Coiiverlation, his Life and Death, and Reiurredtion mufl; be in ibme particular country, though the influence of his dod:rine may reach to all that are wilhng to receive it. And why ihould not Jttdact be that country, as well as any other ? Hu- man Prejudice may prefer others, as all Na- tions are partial to themfelves ; but God, who fees not as man lees, knows the fitteft place, as well as time, for opening his difpenlations towards man ; and fmce he chofe this, we ought to acquiefce in it. Not but that an un- prejudiced man may obferve fome reafon for the choice. For in this place alone the know- ledge of the One True God had been preferved, while all other nations had worlhip'd U\^q. Gods. Here were kept the ancient Oracles of God, and the writings of the Prophets,^ which had teftified before of his coming : here therefore were the evidences kept, where- by it could be mofl: eafily proved, that he was the perfon defigned and fent by God. And there Was no neceflity that he Ihould appear bodily in other nations, fince the Truth and Divinity of his dodrine being once thus e- K k X ftabliih'd,

500 SERMON XVI.

Hablifli'd, the benefits of it are not confined to this, which Cf/^J* in contempt calls a Cor- ner of the IVorld : but his Apoftles were fenc out into all countries, with the power of his Spirit, to convince the Gentile world, that bv him falvation is come to them alfo, if they will receive it. And it is offered to all in fuch a way as to leave room for the tryal of their virtue and fincerity, m admitting or re- jeding it; affiftance being olFered, but no force put upon the freedom of human Will in it. And this is indeed by fome made an ob- jedion againft the whole Oeconomy of Man's Salvation, That God did not rather prevent all Sin and evil from entring into the world at firft, or at lead when it had entered, ra- ther root it out all at once, than take iiich a flow method for the cure of it. Why was fuch a reformation, fay they^ fuffered to be neceffary ? But as this objedion would de- ftroy the original liberty of Hunian ^dions^ and take away the foundation of all virtue, as well as vice : fo it is not level'd only a- gainft the Wifdom of God in Man's Redemp- tion, but againft his Providence in general, of which, in the prefent cafe, I fuppofe men to be already convinced ; and therefore iliall

not

SERMON XVI. 501

not refiime the arguments for it, which are common to all who believe a wile and good Providence governing the World.

But befides the prejudices which men take at the Terfon of our Saviour, the Time, and Place, and Manner of his appearing in the world ; they likewife take offence at his ©^- 6irine , which by fome is accufed for being too Tlaifty by others for being too Sublime and Myfterious. Sometimes the Preceptive part of it is reprefented as deficient, fometimes too rigorous and fevere ; and, upon the wh©le, it is objeded, that, in fadt and experience, ic does not appear effeBual enough to fecure thq end it propofes.

I. It is accufed of too great ^laimiefs and S|implicity. The Greeks , or Gentile Philo- Ibphers, fought after ijuifdom, exped:ed things lliould be proved to them in a philolbphical way, and delivered with all the advantages of Human Art and Eloquence ; but inflead of this, they met with a plain and artlefs narra- tion of an unexpedted matter of fad: ; of the life and miracles, the death , and fufferings, and reliirredion of Jejus Chriji. And they are directed to obey his precepts, and to be- lieve in him as the Author of life, and Judge of the world. This to theni feems foolifl)-

K k 3 iiefs.

502 SERMON XVI.

ncfs. But is not this in truth an high com- mendation of this DodrinCj that it ihould prove a matter of fuch high importance , by an argument fo level to all capacities, as that of Chrift's Refiirredion was, for proving the truth of what he taught, particularly, con- cerning the Refiirrection, and a Future State ? Their way of teaching, look'd as if they thought only men of learning and leifure worth raking notice of; but Divine wifdom is more univerfally beneficent, and refpedrs not men ac- cording to thefe outward advantages. And then for the Preceptive part of this Dodrine, though it be plain and iliort, yet it is deliver- ed, as laws ought to be, in Terms of Autho- rity, giving the mofl excellent Rules of life that are any where to be met withal ; and adding the greareft fandion to them, by fet- ting before men the highell: rewards and pu- nishments, for the obfervance or nori-obier- vance of them. What can be more worthy of God than a Do6trine fo plain, and yet fo full and perfect, reaching to the very thoughts and intentions of the heart ? I am afraid the true rcafon of mens prejudice to this plainnefs, is, that it awakens their own Con- fciences too much againft them, that it would be the mofl efFedual means of re- forming

SERMON XVI. 503

forming them, but that they hate to be re- formed.

z. The Dodrine of Chriftianity is fome- times reprefented as too fiiblme and myfteri- ous, declaring to us things above our com- prehcnfion ; and for that reafon fbme men are prejudiced agaiiifl: it. I iliall not mention par- riculars, bccaufc they have been fubjeds often treated of by others, in particular Difcourfes. I fliall only obferve in general, that if a Re- velation from God, is necefTary to teach us a- ny thing, concerning the Divine nature, and his defigns towards mankind, and in relation to a Future State, more than vi^hat we could naturally know before, it mufl: of necefTity be fomething which our Reafon could not difcover ; and as far as the nature of an Infi- nite Being is concerned in it, it mud exceed our finite Capacities , by the very nature of things : And yet the Belief of it when To re- vealed, may be very reafonable, fo long as it implies no contradiction. And indeed, it would be a much greater prejudice againft a Revela- tion's being from God, if it had no marks in it of any thing, but what human reafon could have dilcovered without it.

3. Though the Morality of the Chrifiian Dodlrine, has been generally allowed to ex-

Kk 4 Q<^.

$04- SERMON XVI.

eel all others in perfedion, yet there are not: wanting, fome who feem to tax it with <^ej?- ciency. An Author, whom I have formerly mentioned, in his high admiration of Epcu- rean Frtendfly'tp ', tells us, that we Chrtjfi- ans ought to have an higher veneration of Epicurus for this virtue of Friendjhip than Cicero ^ , becaufe even our Holy Religion it felf does not any "djhere particularly require of us that virtue. This hint he took from another Author ", who has infmuated, that fome of the moji Heroic k virtues have little fiotice taken of them in our Holy Religion ; and particularly that Private Fricndjhip and Zeal for the Tublick and our Countrey, are virtues fur el^ volmitary in a Chriftian. They are no ejfential parts of his Charity. And they would both feem to defend this ftrange

kind

1 Di/cowr/e o/Fjree-Thinking, />4j. 130.

^ By the way, this Author wotdd either impofe upon us, or isgrojly m.fiaken himfelf, in -ujhat he there quotes out 0/ Cicero : becaufe it is the Epicurean zvho /peaks in thai pajjage , a„d not Cicero Joimfelf, who in jinany places declares, that upo'n tpicurean principles there could be no fuch thing as Friendfliip. 5« /7J5 Offices, lib. I. cap. 2. DeAmicitia. cap. 13 De Fi- nib. II. M. &c. 111. II. and DeNat. Deor. lib. 1. 44. ani elfe-ivhere.

n CharaSliriflUks, in the EJfay en Ireedom of Wit and Hu- mokfy pag. 98.

SERMON XVI. 505

kind of Reafoning, from the Conccflion of an Eminent Divine, who owns, that the word Friendjhip^ in their fenfe, is not to be founc} in the New Teftament ; which though it be true, is nothing to their purpofe, but very- much the contrary, ^y Friendjhtp^ they tell us, is not meant that common Benevolence and Charity f "jvhich every Chriji'tan is obliged to Jhew towards all men^ and in particular towards his Fellow Qhriftians^ his Neighbour^ Brother and Kindred of whatever degree ; but that peculiar Relation ^ which is formed by a Confent and Harmony of Mindsj by mutual ejteem, and reciprocal tendernefs and ajfe6iion ; and which we emphatically call Friendjhip. But now is fuch a Relation, in itfelf, abftracSted from thofe mutual good of- fices, by which it is cultivated, any virtue ? furely no more than Brotherhood, or Neigh- bourhood, or Acquaintance, or a fimihtude of Studies or Education, which are not always in our own power. But thole offices which adorn this Relation, which alone are the vir- tues of it, are commanded by the Chriftian Law, which obliges us to every thing that is virtuous and praife worthy^ or even of good report^ and, in the moft difmterefted manner, to do good where wc hope for no return. We

are

^o-6 S^ERMON XVL

ai^ commanded- to be of the fame intnd one rb^juard'i 'another^ and to perform all the bf- ttt^ o^ miitttal affeBion and benevolence : Aftd when this happens to be more re- markably done between a ^t^sr^ then it is cal- led Friendfhip : but then it is only limiting thbfe ExpreflionS of kindnels and goodwill to Ibipe particulars, which the Chriftian Dodrine cotnmands more univerfally to every one that is capable of receiving them. There is not any particuliar. office of this admired Friend- fhlf^ but what Is more eminently contained' in St. Taul's cHaradter of Charity. And whoever reads the New Tcftament will find^" that to 1.6ve our Neighbours as our felves, which is the great Mark of a Chriftian, com- prehends all the offices of kindnefs which one man cgn owe to another in any relation. And tTiat there ^re occafions on which we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren, which is as far as any Rational Frieudlhip can pre- tend to go. A Friend 111 ip built upon any principles, diftindt from thofe which Chriflian Charity commends, is ^o far from being a great virtue, that it is nothing elfe but a want of focial affe5iion to the reft of mankind. And the like may be faid for the love of our coun- tryy which can never be a virtue, but when it

proceeds

SERMON XVI. 507

proceeds upon a principle of univerfal bene- volence, and a zeal to do the greatefl: good we can to men. Bur, I hope, I need not dwell upon {o unrealbnable a prejudice.

4. On the other hand, fbme are offended at the Chriftian Dodlrine, becauje the precepts of it are too fever e. It commands us to mor^ tify all our lulls and pa/Tions , and to deny our felves to a great degree, and to part with all things, even life it {t\'i^ rather than deny or renounce Chrift and his Gofpel. This, our Saviour knew, and foretold, would be a great prejudice to worldly men, and that when ferfecut'ion Jhould ar'ife becaiife of the word they would ^prefently be offended. But it is not therefore a juft objecSlion, againll its be- ing a Doctrine worthy of God. For as to the (lri(Stnefs of its precepts , in refped: of deny^ ing imgodl'mefsy and worldly htfts., and living fiber ly, right eoufy^ and godly in the worlds and the reftraining all evil thoughts and de- fires, as well as words and acStions, it is whar will approve it felf to be juft and right, to the calmcft reafon of mankind. And there is no duty bf hfe enjoined in it, but what fomc or other, even of the beft Heathen Philolb- phers, have upon occafion commended as moft noble, and beft becoming a truly virtuous

mind ;

5o8 SERMON XVI.

mind; though they have not always con- ftamly infilled upon them. And as for the obligation of lufFcring for the fake of Chrift , when we arc called to it, it is abundantly compcnfated by the promife of Grace and Affiftance, and by that clear difcovery of a Future Reward, which the Gpfpel has promi- fed to all that obey it. This makes it highly reaf^nable in refped of our Lawgiver and Judge, who has provided fuch an infinite Re- ward for us : And it may likewife be the mod generous way of doing good to mankind, thus to offer up our Hves to maintain the truth pf that Revelation, which is Ip worthy of all men to be received. But if Mr. Hobbes's do- ctrine were true, (viz. that ° at the command of the Magifrate^ a man may lawfully deny Chr'tfl with his mouthy becaufe then the a- Bion is not his that denies him^ but his fo- vereign's.J As this Revelation, fo highly beneficial to mankind, could never at firft have been propagated in the world, fo it could ne- ver long fubfift in it, if the powers of the world ihould think fit to forbid it, as they did at the firft. And upon the lame foot any o- ther Truths may be deftroyed, if no man be

obliged,

o Leviathan, Part. 3. c^. 43. />. 271.

SERMON XVI. 5op

obliged, either in honour or coiifcience, to maintain them.

5-. It is farther objected, That the Do(5lrine of the Golpel has not proved fo effedual as it ought to have done, if it had been from God. Chriftians, they fay, are greatly divi- ded, though the Gofpcl pretend to be a do- d:rine-Of the greatefl: Unity and Peace; and they are many of them very corrupt in their lives and pradiices, though they affirm, it affords much greater afliftances towards purity and holinefs of Life, as well as ftridter pre- cepts, than any other inftitution. This, I confels, is a fore refled:ion upon fuch as call themfelves Chriftiaus, which it highly con- cerns every one of them to do all he can 10 confute, by living more agreeably to his Pro - feffion. But though this may be too great an dccafion of offence, for which they that give it muft at lad be feverely anfvverable ; yer, I hope, it is no juft objection againft the truth of that docftrine which fo entirely forbids it. For if it were, it would be an objection a- gainft ail good doctrine whatever, and even againft Reafon it feli^ which ail allow is as much contradidted by the vicious lives of thole, who profefs they ought to be governed by it. The Gofpel >vas iiot intended to force men to be

good;

5IO SERMON XVI.

good, but to give them the bed motives and encouragements to be fb, and then to leave them to their choice, whether they would comply with the terms of it. And as I have^ in a former dilcourfe, obferved, that the Gofpel had undeniably this good efTed: upon the lives of the firfl: Chriftians, which conti- nued as long as it was profefs'd only by thofe who did really believe it ; fo, I doubt not, but the like effed: would appear again, if thofe who believe it, upon a fincere convidion of its Truth and Excellency, could be feparated from thofe who only put on an outfide profef- fionof itjbecaufe it is the cuftom of the coun- try. And even, as the cafe now ftands, where there is fo great a mixture of many Nominal, with a few Real Chriftians, I hope, if a Chri- flian Country were compared with any otherSjj that have never heard of the Name of Chrifl, an impartial man would find a very confider- able difference in the lives and manners of men to the advantage of the Chriftian Caufe ; even though it be allowed, that the corruption of Chriftianicy may have made fbme men much worfe than they would otherwife have been. I do not pretend to have mentioned all the particular prejudices of men againfl the Chri- ftian Revelation (fome of which are ground- ed

SERMON XVI. 511

ed upon difficult or mif-underftood places 9f Holy Scripture, or not being fufficicntly ac- quainted with ancient Cuftoms and Languages, and lb wrefting what they do not undcrftand, to the perverfion of what they do.) But from the nature of thefe which I have touch- ed upon, as moft common, we may be able to form fome judgment of the reft ; and to fee that they proceed not from any real defed: in the Golpel, which can make a wife and unprejudiced man think it the his worthy of God : and therefore fmce it has all the evi- dence, which I have mentioned before, that any Revelation can have, of its being from God, we can have no juft teafbn to refufeour alTcnt to it ; but rather heartily to thank God for having called us to this ejiate of falva- tion through Chrift^ and; to hold fafl the pro- fejjlojt of our Faith without wavering ; and to ftudythe holy Scriptures conftantly, which are able to make us wife unto falvation, and to iliew us more and more the Excellency of the Knowledge of the Gojpel ofChrif, by which we Jhall he favedi unlefs we have be- lieved in vain.

I iliall conclude all with that exhortation of the Apoftle, with which I begun my firft Dif-

- courfc.

512 SERMON XVi.

courle, Take heed. Brethren, left there he in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the Living God.

Now tinh hm who is able to keep Us from falling, and to prefent us fault lefs be- fore the fire fence of his Glory with eik- ceedingjoy ; To the Only Wife God, our Saviour, be Glory and Majefty, domi- nion and Tower^ now and for eveir. Amen.

FINIS:

«' *

^

:-Ti*-d